Since the moment I came to St. Olaf, I have thought to myself: the water is not good here. However, in my two years on campus, I have found some places where the water doesn’t taste terrible. So here is my review of the various water fountains across campus that everyone definitely asked for.
Starting off with places you should never get water: Larson Hall. I’ve seen the horror of that weird red-colored water, and I know it’s just iron, but my grandma had iron in her water, and it tasted great. The Larson water, however, is weird and brown, and I would just say not to drink it.
The second place to never drink water from is Regents. This is just because I have been told by STEM majors that some professors say not to drink the water from certain floors because there may be chemical runoff in the water. Excuse me? Chemical runoff? There should never be a moment where someone can say the phrase: “When I was in college, one of my buildings had water we couldn’t drink because of chemical runoff.” Now, could this just be a tall tale that professors say? Yes, but I am plenty tall and happy to spread the word. In conclusion, maybe just stay away from the Regents water.
Now, Skoglund is a wild card, because the water filters there are ALWAYS yellow, which is a bit concerning, but the water does always taste good. This might just be because people are working out and dehydrated, so take that as you will. If you run a mile and want some good water, then Skoglund water will be fine.
Ytterboe Hall water is also a hit or miss, because there was a time last year when the water was incredibly salty. I was plagued by salty showers; and water would separate in my water bottle, making salt water the final sip of every one of my drinks. The salty water has seemed to disappear, though, and I have returned to drinking Ytterboe water, but I am always a bit terrified that the last sip will be like taking a gulp of the ocean. Kind of in the same vein as the chemical run off in Regents, why does that have to be something I need to worry about?
Now, I may be basic with this last one, but I think Stav has some good water. Is it the best in the league? No, but it does its job when I’m dehydrated or just need a cold cup of water. Similarly, the Cage also offers good water, but the fact that the water fountain is always moldy freaks me out, so that would not be my first pick.
Now the pièce de resistance of the water tasting world on campus, in my opinion, resides in Rolvaag Library. The library water has not only never let me down, but it also hardly has a line, always has a green filter, and when it is yellow, it is always fixed fast. It’s in a great spot, and there’s a great painting above the water fountain. It’s fast unlike the water fountains in Tomson Hall. However, there is one outlier of the library water fountains. On the top floor near room 525, there is a water fountain that not only is disgusting, but also takes seven years off your life. Avoid it at all costs.
In conclusion, the water isn’t great on campus, but there are a lot of places that have good enough water to get you through the school year. Hope this helped!
