With all the stress of college, it is especially important to stay hydrated and, therefore, healthy.
Thankfully, Colorado State University has ingenious machines called “water fountains” that dispense water at no charge to students. These machines are incredibly beneficial because the body depends on water to function properly. Drinking around 100 ounces of water per day is recommended to keep the body in tip-top shape, as well as keeping skin clear and managing weight.
These water fountains can be found all over campus and in every building, making it easy for students to stay hydrated and refill their water bottles. The most advanced of these water fountains dispense water with motion sensor technology: students do n’t even have to move a muscle. It may seem that there has never been a time in which it has been so easy to acquire water.
Unfortunately, this assumption is wrong. Refilling a water bottle can be quite the hassle for students. Sometimes the machines take their sweet time when dispensing the liquid of life, making for a stressful few seconds if another student is waiting behind you to fill up their water bottle. Other times, the water fountains are hard to find in a building or they are not in an optimal location, forcing students to take a detour that may cost them a few minutes they do not have to spare in between classes. Lastly, sometimes the water may have a funny or metallic taste that could ruin a student’s taste buds for the rest of the day.
With the distractions of classes, work and life in general, students do not have the time to comb through campus in search of the most optimal water fountain. Thankfully, the time of thinking “this will do” while settling for the nearest water fountain has come to an end.
After extensive on-site testing and research-based off of three categories: fill speed, location and water quality, the most optimal water fountains at CSU have been determined. Fill speed measures how quick a water fountain could fill up the average water bottle: a 750 mL Camelbak that can be found for sale in the CSU bookstore. Location factors in how accessible the water fountain is in the building and building’s location on campus in relation to other halls. Finally, water quality takes into account the overall taste and temperature of the water.
Based on these criteria, the best water fountain is located on the first floor of Clark A.
The station is to the right of a regular water fountain, is an Elkay EZH20 model that uses motion sensors to dispense enough water to fill the desired bottle based on its size. The filling process is extremely efficient, lasting only 5 seconds when filling the previously mentioned Camelbak. This speed is in part thanks to a steady stream of water flowing from the top of the appliance that never loses speed or density. Residing in Clark A, this water fountain is positioned at a relatively centralized location on campus. Across the Plaza from the library, a student is seemingly never too far away from Clark A. The water quality was exceptionally high, upon hitting one’s tongue, the water quenched thirst in any shape or form and is a nice, cool temperature.
Filling up a water bottle at this station before its inevitable popularity after this publication can be akin to liking a band before they make it big. If this is you, it is recommended you refrain from calling those who will now use this refill station “fake fans” or propose that the water fountain was better before it went mainstream. It is a water fountain. Don’t you have better things to do than care about them so much?
