The school water fountains are in bad shape. Just last week, one was clogged and filled with stagnant water,(gross) while another had a broken faucet. Then I asked the question; Are these fountains safe to drink from? It was then, that I started to investigate.

I first interviewed an anonymous 9th grader, who when asked if he thought the fountains were clean, said: “It like, it has to go through a filter so it’s probably pretty clean, but I have absolutely no doubt that some gross kids put their lips on the spout. {…}They don’t need updating, but a better and more often clean. A deep clean every once in a while, but even a damp cloth and cleaner would be nice. Because, as I said, kids are gross, putting their mouths on the spout and stuff, and I don’t want that in my water *Insert gag*”. 

I then interviewed Tish, one of the custodians for her opinion. When questioned about how often the fountains are cleaned, her response was, “Every day. Y’know at night, when everyone is cleaning here, it’s just me who can clean the fountains.”. Then I asked some questions about why the fountains were flooding/clogging, to which she said, “{…} But I will say that when people put stuff in it that isn’t supposed to be there, it really, … can’t handle that much, i’ve seen people put their fruit drinks and sodas into the fountains, and it clogs everything up.” Tish said a lot about the mistreatment of the water fountains, but she also mentioned how outdated the pipes and fountains are, and how the water bottle filling stations are a much cleaner and updated option.

So in conclusion, the fountains aren’t the best option in the way of cleanliness, but this can be avoided by updating the fountains and taking better care of the current ones. This is both a school problem and a student one. So please be responsible, and have a great week.