In pitching this story to the Lasso staff, I was taken aback when the staff all echoed – strongly – my grievance about the water pressure. All at once, each of my peers gave me examples of how some water fountains in our school are better working than others, or how one water fountain even produced a white coloring of water.
If there is anything that needs to be fixed in the school, the water fountains are the most vital.
Students need to stay hydrated. Not only for athletics, but studies have shown that students who stay hydrated throughout the day are more focused and aware during the school day. Instead of buying a water bottle in the cafeteria every day and recycling even more plastic, students should be able to drink or fill up their bottles without having to guess which water fountain will be sufficient or not.
Amidst our frustrations, there are answers to the issues at hand.
“The issues you are experiencing in the water fountains is most likely due to the different makes/models of fountains as well as the age of the equipment,” said FCCPS Director of Facilities and Security Services Seve Padilla. “Some of the fountains have been upgraded over the years whereas others date back to the 1960’s and 1970s.”
So along with older fountains in the school, there could also just be simple mechanical glitches causing the reduced flow.
“Things such as a clogged filter or even that the “button” you push for the water is worn out and not fully allowing adequate water to flow,” said Padilla.
In terms of water flow, that is on the top of every student’s list of subject in terms of the water fountain. However, through investigating this issue I found a solution that could possibly help and decrease students’ discontent.
“I have instructed my crews to do a check of all the fountains tomorrow (Tuesday) to ensure they are all functioning correctly. If [students] have specific water fountains that are causing them issues please let me know,” said Padilla.
Although we can’t obtain a whole set of brand new and perfectly functioning water fountains overnight, it is helpful to know that there are resources (and answers) where students