Student Action

Students campaign for return of water fountains

Matthew Van Dongen and Tiffany Mayer, October 27, 2009, Niagara Falls Review--Once thought to be passe bastions of germs, water fountains have become beacons of choice for Milica Njegovan.

That's why the programming co-ordinator at Brock University's chapter of the Ontario Public Interest Group is doing all that she can to get more fountains -- or, at least, water bottle-filling stations -- installed on campus, particularly since discovering their noticeable absence in the plans for three new buildings underway there.

Njegovan started counting water fountains after her group did a sustainability study on campus. It looked at issues surrounding water, the backlash against bottled blue gold and the availability of water fountains that students could use instead of doling out $2.50 to buy water from a vending machine.

It also prompted her to look at the protocol for adding water fountains to new buildings. She found out there was none.

"Unless there's a staff demand for them or there's student demand for them, (facilities management) doesn't even think about it," Njegovan said.

Njegovan said that as recently as 10 years ago, people no longer wanted to use water fountains because they were seen as unsanitary.

But now, with many turning their noses up at plastic water bottles for environmental reasons, they want a place to refill their stainless steel water bottles, she said.

Aside from the water fountain's previous fall from grace, Njegovan said Brock's exclusive contract with Pepsi to supply beverages on campus is also keeping water bottle-filling stations from appearing in new buildings. The fountains, she said, are competition for Pepsi's vending machine offerings.

The only exception is in the new international services building, where staff have requested at least one per floor in their work areas.

"It's obviously really concerning. Slowly students are having no choice and access to water," Njegovan said.

But university spokesman Jeff Sinibaldi said the absence of water fountains has nothing to do with any influence wielded by Pepsi.

"It really just boils down to the incredible swing in attitudes we've seen toward bottled water," Sinibaldi said. "There's nothing in the agreement that says no water fountains or that the agreement would even find its way into the planning stages of buildings."

Fountains wound up in the staff areas of the international services building because they were requested during consultative stages when future tenants were asked what amenities they wanted in the building. Sinibaldi said students will have access to tap water in a lounge area in the building.

The new health sciences building isn't at the stage where future users are asked what features they want in the plans, he added.

"You can't say they're not going to be there because we're not at that stage yet," Sinibaldi said, adding it takes about four years to finalize plans for a building.

As for the addition to Welch Hall, the other area of concern for Njegovan, Sinibaldi said there are water fountains in older areas of the building.

Njegovan said her job now is to get students to demand water bottle-filling stations in at least the new health sciences building.

"It's really quite a bit of pressure on us to mobilize students to see if they need them or even want them," she said.

"I'm optimistic, in the sense that bottle water itself is not a taboo subject anymore," she added. "In another sense, I'm really concerned that at university, students may not be involved to the degree that they think it affects them."