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Water Fountains on Canadian Campuses: Where Have They Gone? |
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Written by Polaris Institute
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Thursday, 03 September 2009 20:29 |
CHECK OUT THE LATEST REPORT FROM THE POLARIS INSTITUTE – ORGANIZERS OF THE INSIDE THE BOTTLE CAMPAIGN
Water Fountains on Canadian Campuses: Where Have They Gone?
Water fountains are disappearing on university and college campuses across Canada according to a new Polaris Institute report.
The report, “Campus Water Fountains: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” uncovers a series of trends related to public drinking water access at Canadian universities and colleges:
• The Good – assesses the kind of reinvestment in public tap water infrastructure currently happening on campuses.
• The Bad – presents cases where water fountains have blatantly been excluded from new buildings.
• The Ugly – explains the forces on and off campus that make it possible for university and college planners to design and construct new buildings without water fountains.
The report’s findings show a disturbing trend of some institutions decommissioning water fountains in older buildings and excluding water fountains in new buildings. In these cases students, staff and faculty are left to either bring water from home, drink from bathroom sinks or purchase socially and environmentally damaging bottled water products.
The elimination or exclusion of water fountains is considered alongside the converging trends of rising bottled water consumption and beverage exclusivity contracts.
The full report is available online at http://www.insidethebottle.org/publications-resources
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