A Tap Water Campaign
The "Eagles Heart Tap Water" campaign was introduced on campus in 2009 to promote the use of reusable water bottles and ultimately reduce plastic bottle waste across campus. This campaign is not original to FGCU; ideas have been borrowed from other higher education institutions such as MIT, UC Berkley and the University of Vermont.
Tap Water at FGCU
The tap water on campus at FGCU is completely safe to drink. FGCU pays thousands annually to ensure the tap water is clean and safe to drink. The tap water on campus is tested weekly and meets all county, state, and federal standards, including the Safe Drinking Water Act enacted by the EPA.
Since bottled water is regulated as a food by the FDA, it is not required to undergo the same testing in certified labs, or report violations, according to the US Government Accountability Office.
How Drinking Tap Water Can Help the Environment
Significant reduction of bottle waste can reduce FGCU's carbon footprint due to fuel savings from both the manufacturer of the bottles as well as the transportation costs associated with water delivery. According to Earth 911, creating new bottles from recycled plastic uses two-thirds less energy than creating bottles from raw materials. However, the US Government Accountability Office reports that only 23.5 percent of plastic bottles are recycled. By reducing the amount of plastic bottles used and ultimately discarded, and recycling what we do use, we reduce the amount of resources used in the process.
