Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Tap, Filtered or Bottled: Testing Your Water Preference

Tuesday, February 11, 2014, By News Staff
Share
Communitysustainability
Sustainability Division intern Robbie Provenzano pours water into tasting cups. Without knowing which was which, most participants chose campus tap water as their favorite.

Sustainability Division intern Robbie Provenzano pours water into tasting cups. Without knowing which was which, most participants chose campus tap water as their favorite.

Tap, filtered or bottled.

The Sustainability Division wants to know what members of the campus community prefer in terms of their drinking water by offering a blind sample of water tests around campus this month.

Starting last week in Bird Library, the Sustainability Division had more than 70 participants taste three different kinds of water: tap, filtered tap and bottled Aquafina. To many participants’ surprise, the majority liked the tap water the best.

For the past few years, the Sustainability Division has held water taste tests to show students, faculty and staff how delicious the tap water here on campus really is. Drinking tap water also reduces the waste plastic water bottles produces.

Sustainability Division marketing manager Melissa Cadwell and interns Robbie Provenzano and Shao Mei Zhang set up a table Thursday, Feb. 6, in the entrance of Bird Library with paper cups of the different samples.

As participants approached, they were asked to try all three and say which they preferred. The majority preferred tap water, which was taken straight from the faucet in Bird Library. Participants’ second choice was bottled Aquafina, which costs $1.75 on campus. The third choice was the water that came from the water bottle filling station located in Bird Library.

Tasters received a free, reusable aluminum water bottle for participating in the test.

First-year student Chrissy Bader preferred the Aquafina in the blind taste test, but chose the tap water as her second favorite. When asked if she would choose the tap water instead, she says, “I probably will now that I have this bottle.”

Similar to Bader, first-year students Abigail Cohen and Sydney Hirsh say they normally drink bottled or filtered water while at SU, because they don’t know how clean or safe the tap water is.

Melissa Cadwell says educating the campus on the sustainability of the tap water is one of the main goals of the water taste tests. The majority of tap water available on campus comes from Skaneateles Lake. The water quality of Skaneateles Lake is so high that it is one of the few water supplies in the country approved as an unfiltered water source, according to the City of Syracuse Water Department. Water taken from Skaneateles Lake is tested for bacteria 269 times each month.

Cadwell was very pleased with the amount of participation at last Thursday’s water taste test. She said when students approach the table just a few at a time, it allows her and her staff to answer their questions and have a conversation with them about the safety and sustainability behind drinking tap water.

“People have been really enthusiastic about it,” says Provenzano. Provenzano is a senior public health major and is working with the Sustainability Division as part of his capstone project.

Water taste tests will continue on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Whitman School lobby; Thursday, Feb. 20, in the Newhouse food.com area; and Wednesday, Feb. 26, in the Life Sciences atrium.

For more information about sustainability at SU, visit the SU Sustainability website, follow @SustainableSU on Twitter and check out the Syracuse University Sustainability Facebook page.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Christine Weber
  • Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By News Staff
  • 2022 Graduates Reflect on Service as Academic Coaches
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Ellen de Graffenreid
  • Funding Expands for Newhouse Professors’ Work on Technology to Combat Fake News
    Wednesday, May 18, 2022, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Campus & Community

Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy

Seven new recruits were sworn into the Syracuse University campus peace officer academy today by Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile. Cecile performed the swearing in of the academy recruits as an official welcome and endorsement of the joint law enforcement…

Syracuse University, JMA Wireless Announce Naming Rights Partnership, Usher in the JMA Wireless Dome Era

Syracuse University and JMA Wireless (JMA) today announced a 10-year partnership for naming rights of the University’s iconic on-campus stadium. For the first time since the venue opened its doors in 1980, the stadium will have a new name, only…

2022 Graduates Reflect on Service as Academic Coaches

Josh Eimbinder ’22 struggled during his sophomore year at Syracuse. The sport management major wasn’t earning the grades he needed. “In high school, they didn’t teach me how to study—they just hand you the work. I went to my advisor…

Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising Team Helps Match Students With Unique Experiences That Enhance Their Studies

When it comes to applying for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, the team at the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) offers a wealth of knowledge and resources for undergraduate and graduate students and recent alumni. Located on the…

COVID-19 Update: Public Health Protocols for Summer 2022

Dear Students, Families, Faculty and Staff: With the 2021-22 academic year officially behind us, I want to again express my gratitude for the cooperation and flexibility of our students, faculty and staff, who committed to the public health safeguards necessary…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.