Likely you’ve satisfied your thirst at an Austin Hall water fountain, so now allow us to quench your curiosity as well.
You’ve probably noticed that each of the College of Business’ four Elkay-brand EZH2O fountains – one per floor – is equipped with a meter that gives a running tally of how many disposable plastic bottles it’s helped eliminate waste from. Those cumulative numbers are nice, but what do they translate to on a level the average Austin Hall water drinker could more readily relate to?
We’re glad you asked, and here’s what we learned:
In a one-week period – in this case from 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, to 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 – the fountains provided enough water to fill 2,528 12-ounce bottles, or 237 gallons. How do we know the bottles referred to are 12 ounces? Experimentation. And in case you were wondering, the meter records water dispensed via the conventional lever in addition to from the bottle-filling sensor.
Here are a few other water fountain fun facts from our informal research project:
— The second-floor fountain is by far the building’s busiest, having already flowed out water equaling 13,875 bottles in the short history of Austin Hall. During our one-week study period, the number was 1,223, only 72 fewer than the other floors combined.
— The fourth floor is apparently way less thirsty than the rest. Bottle count to date: 4,516.
— The third floor has pumped out 6,667 bottles so far.
— With 7,828 bottles, the first floor combines with the second floor to basically double the joint output of the top two floors.
So ponder all of that the next time you tend to your hydration needs, and reduce your carbon footprint, at an Austin Hall drinking fountain.