Concordia hosts open forums on water
The Office of the Vice-President, Services, hosted two open forums on the availability of drinking water and the sale of bottled water at Concordia.
Welcoming members of the Concordia community to share their views, the forums, chaired by Vice-President, Services, Roger Côté, were held January 26 on the Sir George Williams Campus in the MB Building and January 27 on the Loyola Campus in the Central Building.
The forums were part of a broader consultation on improving access to water on campus.
“We are interested in hearing input from a variety of sources,” said Côté in his welcoming remarks. “Part of informing ourselves is forums such as these.”
Both events had an attendance of between 20 and 30 staff and students, including members of the Dean of Students Office, the John Molson Sustainable Business Group, and water awareness group TAPthirst.
The forums were positive exchanges of viewpoints and ideas. Topics discussed included clarifications of the university’s contract with PepsiCo, and the condition of water fountains on campus. Currently, there are 235 drinking fountains across both campuses.
Many attendees agreed the maintenance and an improved visibility of water fountains would be a worthy upgrade, as would ‘gooseneck’ water fountains that can be used to fill up reusable water bottles.
In the meantime, Environmental Health and Safety Interim Director Rick Young suggested community members call 514-848-2424, ext. 2400 if a fountain in need of maintenance is spotted.
Related Links:
• ”Concordia University's position on bottled water” – NOW, October 28, 2010
• Office of the Vice-President, Services
• “Water at Concordia”– Sustainable Concordia