Colleges to Put a Cap on Bottled Water

In an effort to curb bottled water consumption on college campuses, more than 150 American universities are providing "hydration stations" for their students.

The fountains are to be used as refilling stations for students carrying their own water bottles around campus.

Scott Heiner, a student at USC says, "More people should use Nalgene water bottles so that you dont have to throw away all of your plastic bottles."

Heiner says the filling stations are beneficial for their "environmental purposes."

While USC has not confirmed their push for these "hydration stations," students on campus see their value.

"I think it is a great idea because I always have a lot of difficulty at a water fountain trying to fill up my bottles," USC student Nicole Berksanlar said. "It would make life easier if we have a specific line for that, instead of holding everyone up!"

This push for eco-friendly drinking habits comes after a year of increased bottled water consumption. Last year, consumption rose 3.5%, meaning Americans were drinking an average of 28.3 gallons of bottled water in 2010. Some of the campuses across the country are even going as far as banning the sale of plastic bottles all together.

"I don't know if I would be ok with that right off the bat," Vikram Paul said of the hypothetical ban coming to USC. "It would make things a little trickier if I was on the go and needed to grab a bottle of water." 

These eco-friendly water fountains are not only entering college life. According to USA Today, you can see these fountains in airports, parks, and office buildings across the country.