Students walking around Loretto Hall may have noticed a small difference this year. Located next to the second floor bathrooms, a new water bottle filler station has been installed.

Vice President for Operations Mr. Jim McLinn ‘70 wrote in an email, “The new units will add to a more user friendly and greener campus.”

Although water bottle fillers have been located around the campus for several years, this is the first in Loretto. McLinn said, “This (new drinking fountain) is a part of a long range plan to replace the older model drinking fountains with the more modern water bottle fill stations. This project was first started several years ago by the CHS Environmental Club, who sold refillable water bottles to raise the money to purchase and pay for the install.”

While it may seem like a small change, the installation of the new water bottle filler station involves more than some might think. McLinn said, “The removal of the old unit is more work than the install of the new unit.” He said that a licensed plumber had to refit the water line and drainage pipe and secure it to the wall. The price of each unit is approximately $2,000, McLinn said.

The new unit is expected to benefit students and teachers along with the environment. McLinn said, “With the filtered, chilled water processed by the new unit, the filtered water should have a better taste, be cleaner and provide for refill of water bottles, eliminating cost of purchase and are better for the environment by eliminating plastic waste.”