Free, accessible water is provided to FHS students through water fountains distributed around the campus; however, the water’s taste led some to doubt its safety.
FHS has to provide water for its students: Federal and State laws require K-12 schools to provide free, drinkable water to students, according to the California Department of Education. Some take advantage of school-provided water — FHS senior Saurav Koduri exclusively drinks from water fountains during school.
“[Some students] bring their own water, they never drink from the water fountains,” Koduri said. “That pisses me off. The water really isn’t that bad. If you go to the right places, like the library [or] the A-building, that water is honestly pretty high quality. So I don’t get why people make such a big deal about it.”
While Koduri is confident in the water quality from the aforementioned locations, many students do not like the taste of outdoor fountains. They wonder if the taste is an indicator of subpar water quality.
“I think the consensus, from what I’ve heard from students, is that the water is best in the gym and the A and B-Building are better,” FHS Biology teacher Mary Sargious said.
Another factor that may change the taste of the water could be the age of the building, since older buildings likely have older water systems. If damage occurs over time, water quality can deteriorate.
“I do know that there’s differences in [the water taste in] each of the buildings,” Sargious said. “Some of the buildings are older versus newer. Maybe that’s why.”
Due to these concerns, some students choose to avoid the school water. Many students at FHS bring their own water bottle or drink from their friends’ bottles instead. Others buy water bottles from the vending machines.
Forgetting their bottle, money to buy one, or running out of water and refusing to drink from the water fountain can lead people to dehydration, which can often go unnoticed. For student athletes, this would affect their ability to do their best during practice and games, FHS football Coach Rob Swartz explains.
“If you get dehydrated, you get a headache, you’re not as alert, and obviously it has your fatigue factor too, so it’s important to stay hydrated,” Swartz said. “[Dehydration is] a problem, but I would say [the kids are] able to take water breaks and they do a pretty good job of it.”
Students are unsure if their decision to drink FHS water will affect them because there is not much information about the school water. Ultimately, each student has to decide for themselves.
