During the 2017-18 school year the GECDSB Facility Services Department expanded on its program to replace traditional water fountains with water bottle filling stations. This initiative, which grew from the Board's EcoSchools Leaping Forward program, has greatly reduced the number of disposable water bottles being used in schools and helped in some energy savings as well.
Last year, the Board established a mechanical standard for the devices which does not use any electricity. All GECDSB secondary schools now have multiple units installed and many elementary schools now have at least one.