Our focus on water includes efforts and strategies to increase the water efficiency of our facilities and promote equitable access to safe drinking water.
Hunter College’s Baker Building, located at 151 East 67th Street, between Lexington and Third avenues, is open to students, faculty, and staff daily from 9:45 am until 6 pm. All evening classes have been relocated until further notice. Read more.
Water
Actions and Activities
“Show your commitment to refill! Let’s start the elimination of plastic from campus!”
Responding to growing student demand and activism by the Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate Student Association, waste-saving water bottle filling stations were introduced on Hunter campuses starting in 2016.
See Green Map for Water Bottle StationsInstallation of modernized plumbing equipment is recognized as a best practice for water conservation. Low flow showerheads and faucet aerators were installed at all Hunter campus facilities in efforts to lower water consumption. The capital plumbing upgrades are designed to consume less water when put into operation.
Repairs of steam and chilled water leaks found within campus’ piping networks are hastily made by Hunter Office of Facilities Management to minimize levels of water waste.
Foam hand soap dispensers, installed in all Hunter College restrooms, reduce the amount of soap concentrate each person uses, helping to lower the rate at which soap compounds enter the municipal water treatment system. The hand soap used in the dispensers is also formulated to be less harsh on the environment than conventional hand soaps.
Expectations
Our expectations to go further and greener include these water-related goals from our Sustainability Plan:
- An inventory of all available green spaces on campus to identify future green roofs potential.
- Installation of water bottle-filling stations on every campus’ floor for more accessibility.
- Installation of building sub-meters to effectively track and analyze Hunter’s campus water usage.
- Increase the number of high-efficiency plumbing fixtures on campus to a minimum of 50% by the year 2028.
Key Achievements
Fueled by the leadership of Hunter’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and Graduate Student Association (GSA), the advocacy and support of the Hunter student body proves instrumental towards campus funding and installation of waste-saving water bottle filling stations on campus.
Since the first bottle filling installation in 2016, over 19 million (and counting) plastic water bottles have been eliminated from the NYC waste stream.