Reusable Water Bottle Filling Stations
Over a hundred water bottle filling stations are available across campus. Cold, filtered water pours easily into the dispensers which are the right shape and size for most bottles to refill.
We recommend carrying and refilling a reusable water bottle instead of purchasing bottled water. Water sold in single-use plastic results in unnecessary waste, along with pollution and emissions resulting from manufacturing and distributing water bottles.
Student campaigns and a state policy banning the spending of state funds on bottled water both sparked interest in encouraging reusable water bottles by installing water bottle filling stations across campus. Through the "Terps <3 the Tap" project, dozens of filtered water filling stations have been installed on campus, encouraging the campus community to reuse and refill, instead of consuming single-use bottled water. The project was completed with a grant from the University Sustainability Fund. Make the sustainable choice to refill your bottle!
If you notice a filling station that requires a filter to be changed or any other repairs please submit a work order to Facilities Management.
History of Terps Heart the Tap and Campus Bottle Filling Stations
To date, over 102 bottle filling stations have been installed across campus due to the efforts of student advocates, the Sustainability Council, the Sustainability Fund, the Office of Sustainability, Facilities Management, Residential Facilities, University Recreation & Wellness and others.
In spring 2011, undergraduate students proposed that the University Sustainability Council work toward reducing bottled water consumption on campus. The Sustainability Council created a Bottled Water Committee comprised of students, faculty, and staff representing many areas of campus. This committee examined the issue, surveyed the campus, and explored options. They presented recommendations to the Sustainability Council, including proposing bottle filling stations on campus.
The Sustainability Council established a Water Filling Station Work Group which began meeting in fall 2012. Representatives from the student body, Facilities Management, Residential Facilities, Campus Recreation, CSPAC, the Office of Sustainability, and the campus libraries quickly reached an agreement on which filling stations would best fit the campus needs. Locations of the filling stations were determined from a Bottle Water Survey distributed by the Bottled Water Committee, Building Usage Data from the Office of the Registrar, student input, and building occupant input. Phone interviews with other institutions that had installed filling stations also helped inform the work group’s decisions.
The Water Filling Station Work Group absorbed a previous student-proposed Sustainability Fund grant project, Hydrate UMD. Hydrate UMD similarly sought to install filling stations on campus, but the Water Filling Station Work Group approached the project with a larger scope. As a Sustainability Fund proposal, the workgroup secured funding to install 64 filling stations across campus: in residential, academic, and administrative buildings. In 2014, the Water Filling Station Work Group again secured support from the Sustainability Fund to install 38 additional stations.
In 2021, SGA allocated $60,000 to install 20 additional water bottle filling stations across residence halls. Tap water is also perfectly safe to drink so consider filling up your water bottle at the faucet next time as well!