What started off in a few spots on campus to refill water bottles has developed into a campus-wide sustainability initiative with plans to expand locations.
The project began in November 2011, under the direction of Senator-at-Large Manuel Nieto and then- Senator Diana Phan.
Since then, six stations have been added to campus, and by February an additional 11 to 13 stations are expected to be installed, according to Nieto.
Students can find water rehydration systems on both floors of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, the Horn Center, the University Student Union and outside near the tennis courts. Nieto said the current water rehydration systems are being used often, and as long as students keep using them, more will be installed.
Junior human development major Brittany Shinmoto said she brings filtered water from home every day, but if she needs to refill her bottle, she would much rather use the water rehydration system.
“I think it’s much more sanitary than using drinking fountains because people’s mouths don’t touch them,” Shinmoto said.
The most recent station was installed in the Horn Center at the beginning of the semester, and in just two months students have helped eliminate waste from 7,898 plastic bottles in the environment, as of yesterday.
The number of water bottles saved in the SRWC is significantly higher. The first system was installed downstairs, and the number of bottles saved has exceeded 10 million in less than a year. The station upstairs that was installed later has reached almost 100,000 bottles.
Sophomore business major Ivan Lanning said he has used the water filling stations before in the SRWC when he worked out but not anywhere else on campus because he hasn’t really seen them. He said if the stations were closer to where his classes are, then he would utilize them more often.
Sophomore kinesiology major Ryan Ly also said if there were more stations, he would use them. He said he hasn’t seen the stations yet, but he feels they are a good addition to campus.
“I typically bring filtered water from home because I prefer that over the drinking fountains,” Ly said.
Nieto said his and Phan’s main priority is to get a station installed next to the College of Business Administration as well as in front of the Hall of Science. They are also planning to install them inside and outside of the Language Arts buildings.
Students can expect to see the new water rehydration systems at the start of the spring semester as most of them are being installed during winter break, Nieto said. Nieto and Phan said they would like to install them sooner, but it would be inconvenient for students because of the construction and ground-breaking necessary to get the job done.