Water fountains are few and far between on some university campuses according to a recent report.

The Polaris Institute, an advocacy group for social change, has produced the report, “Campus Water Fountains: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” on the grounds that fewer fountains lead to frequent water bottle usage.

“The goal of the study is to get people to start talking about it, in light of the University of Winnipeg which went water bottle free and is actively promoting the use of tap water,” Richard Girard, research co-ordinator with the Polaris Institute, said. “In a few cases we found that there were [some] campuses with no water fountains.”

The report suggested while newer buildings on university campuses are being built with fewer water fountains, the fountains found in older buildings are being decommissioned, or left in disrepair.

Western is no stranger to water fountain troubles, according to Holly Stover, EnviroWestern co-ordinator.

“We’ve seen an exponential increase in water bottle usage,” she said.

Cassandra Chiang, a first-year social science student, noted water fountains were not an issue for her.

“I just stay away from them,” Chiang said. “I use one of the Western Sigg water bottles.”

Girard also showed concern over the possibility an increase in water bottles among universities could mean increased beverage exclusivity contracts and privatized water delivery on campus.

Stover acknowledged the possibility of increased beverage contracts among universities, but maintained a ban on water bottles similar to what is happening at the University of Winnipeg would be beneficial to students.

“We’re trying to combat the negative impacts caused by [these contracts],” Stover said. “By banning bottled water, you’re ensuring there are a lot of resources on campus, like tap water, and replacing unsustainable resources like bottled water.”

Despite water fountains being available across Western’s campus, water bottles continue to be in student demand.

“At The Spoke, out of the coffee bar, a lot of people are grabbing them and going — there are a lot of sales there,” Jeff Armour, food and beverage manager for The Wave and Spoke, said.

He added sales overall at the coffee bar and at The Spoke café have increased, so proportionally water bottle sales have increased as well, but without the proper algorithms it would be difficult to determine how water bottle sales have risen exponentially.

Emily Sischek, a graduate student in health and rehabilitation science, noticed a recent trend in students favouring bottled water.

“There’s been a general trend over the last five or six years where the people that make bottled water are promoting it for [the] health benefits [by advertising] where they’re purified, and [and the fact] your tap water might not be,” Sischek said. “That’s kind of carried over to the mentality of our age group.”

Girard noted the report demonstrated some building codes in Canada stipulate no water fountains are needed in buildings, which gives organizations the opportunity to sell water instead.

“I think [water fountains] are a really important symbol,” Stover mentioned. “Water resources are a human right, and they should be free for anyone, and shouldn’t be privatized or commercialized.”

—With files from Stuart A. Thompson