The filtered water refill stations on campus were out of order from the end of September until the break between semesters, when they were said to have been repaired. The filtered water refill stations are a recent addition to the Wilfrid Laurier University campus with the intended purpose of reducing the waste of water bottles as well as providing the student and faculty with filtered drinking water.
The reasons why it took so long for the water refill stations to be repaired was explained by Chris Walker, vice-president of university affairs at the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union.
“The units as an entirety weren’t Canada Safety Standards Association (CSA) compliant,” explained Walker.
“What we had to do, was work with Water Fills, the company that builds the machine; they had to be inspected, then schematics were drawn up [and] the company had to develop a new part, then install it to the systems, so the period of that took a considerable amount of time.”
Students were bothered by the lack of water fill stations during the time it took to repair the stations.
Alex Krawecki, a fourth-year student, noted this and said, “It was very inconvenient.”
However, not all students were inconvenienced while the water fill stations were out of order, and were not concerned by the lack of water refill stations.
Dan Graziotto, a third-year student at WLU, said that he was aware that the water stations were broken because of signs in the Concourse which indicated that the water stations were not working, but it did not affect him.
“I don’t bring a reusable water bottle to school,” said Graziotto. “So the fact that they were broken didn’t affect me in ways other students would have experienced.”
Walker also spoke to The Cord regarding the concerns of students as to why it took so long for the water refill stations to be repaired.
The water fill stations are now working and compliant with the CSA regulations.
There is now filtered drinking water accessible to students on campus from the water fill stations. Students were able to voice their concerns about the water fill stations through Fix My Laurier.
“We saw a lot of feedback through Fix My Laurier, so there defiantly was a response from students who wanted to use the free water fill stations,” said Walker.
The concern of the students resulted in the repair of most of the water fill stations, but The Cord found that the water station in the science building is still out of order.
However, WLUSU is still planning to increase the amount of water stations on campus, especially in high traffic areas.
