I’m sure we have all had the experience of going up to one of the many water bottle fillers across campus only to find that the filter status is red.Hesitant, we take a leap of faith, trusting that, despite the warning lights in front of us, the water will be fine. Instead, the water that comes out is a terrible combination of  lukewarm temperature and an off-putting taste. This frustrating experience raises an important question: which buildings on campus have the best and worst water bottle fillers?

The worst water bottle fillers might be in Anderson Hall. They are always red and only dispense lukewarm water. While the fillers themselves are relatively clean, , it’s made up for in the bad taste of the water dispensed. It has almost a slight briny taste to it —not what you want or expect from a filler. Many of the water fillers also generally seem to be off to the sides in random places, making them hard to find. This is a problem that is consistent throughout the Hulings-Anderson-Olin complex. While there are a decent number of fillers on every floor, they, like the bathrooms, are tucked away in places that make them too difficult to find. There also isn’t a filler in the Anderson Atrium, by far the most-trafficked section of the complex. It seems like it would not  be difficult  to place one inside  it.

Hasenstab Hall must also be mentioned. . While the filters are consistently green, none of the water is especially cold, and it all has just a little bit of an aftertaste. Its saving grace is probably how low-trafficked it is compared to Anderson.

Boliou Hall faces similar problems. The filters are mostly clean, but the water that comes out is far too warm to be a good drinking temperature. However, the water is a little bit less gross-tasting than Hasenstab, having just a little bit less weird of a flavor to it. The good thing about Boluio is that the filters are easily accessible, making them easy to find if you don’t know where you’re going.

Laird Hall is a little  worse than Boliou, as the water has a similar taste,  but the fillers are more difficult to find.

An honorable mention for worst fillers must go to Burton Hall. Despite its high foot traffic from students going to the dining hall, it doesn’t have a single filler.It seems like it should be possible to fit one in somewhere on the floors, yet none of them do. While you might say that you can just fill up your water in the dining hall, there should be at least one way to get a drink that doesn’t require a meal swipe.

Another honorable mention must  go to the first-floor filler in the Rec. While the taste is fine, it probably has the grossest actual filler, with the filler splash zone being almost entirely  green.

The best water bottle filler has to be the one on the second floor of the Gould Library. It maintains a consistently green filter status,  a rare sight in many academic halls. Unlike the other fillers in the rest of the library, they are not covered in a disgusting green goo at their base. The water also accomplishes a feat that most fillers fail to do on campus — the water is actually cold. Instead of just spitting out lukewarm water, the water it spits out is just a step above ice-cold. It also has a relatively refreshing taste devoid of the tap water edge you often taste around campus. It’s also extremely accessible and requiring basically no detour for anyone studying in the library.

While not an official filler, the best place to fill your water bottle is Lower Sayles. Not requiring a meal swipe, you can fill your bottle at the  soda fountain; this is basically the only place on campus that provides truly cold water. Even in the absence of ice, the water is still almost ice-cold.

An honorable mention has to be the second-floor LDC. While not as accessible as the library (you must go up one flight of stairs), the water might be even colder than that of the library. It also seems to avoid any off-taste, unlike many other filters.

Another honorable mention goes to the water fillers in the CMC. They seem to be some of the few that are consistently cold and relatively clean, although they are almost off in their own hallway, making them somewhat difficult to find. They also seem to have a relatively good taste, though it is close to tap water.

A final honorable mention has to go to Leighton. The water is devoid of any weird taste, and the water always seems to be cold. It is also devoid of any grime on the filler.