Spring Brings New Hydration Stations

2015 Goldberg hydration stations
Photo by Rachel Goldberg

The Williston Northampton School campus has been slowly filling up with water this spring—of the fresh and purified kind. Over the past few months, the Physical Plant staff has been outfitting buildings and dorms with new hydration stations, which can provide both a quick drink and an easy way to fill up a water bottle.

The Elkay EZH2O stations, some 29 in all, were part of a $25,000 anonymous donation designed to provide a resource that could help improve campus health while making an environmental impact.

Students will be encouraged to fill up reusable water bottles at the stations, keeping themselves hydrated and taking the plastic bottles they might otherwise buy and discard out of the equation.

Director of Parent Relations Rachel Goldberg described the hydration stations as “an awesome thing to add to this campus.”

“We’re going to have them in basically every building,” she said. “It feels like an accomplishment for the school and feels like we’re improving the school.”

All the stations are equipped with counters that track how much water has been used—and how many plastic bottles have been avoided as a result. Maintenance Manager Paul Bricker said that the station in Reed Campus Center, which was installed last December, has saved some 1,200 liter bottles so far.

“I know the students are making good use of it,” Mr. Bricker said. “The ones in the gym are very heavily used.”

In addition to Reed, some 11 stations now in use can be found at the Athletic Center, Ward Schoolhouse, Lossone Rink, Sawyer House, Whitaker-Bement, Conant House, Memorial East, Memorial West, and Scott Hall.

Jeff Tannatt, director of the physical plant, said the plan is to install two additional stations each in the Schoolhouse and Scott Hall over the March break, and then continue installing the rest in campus dormitories over the course of the spring.

In January, when the hydration station across from her office reached a milestone, reading “helped eliminate waste from [1000] disposable plastic bottles,” Meg Valine, director of international student programs, tweeted a picture with the note “Willys care! New water stations across campus are being heavily used.”

 

 

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