Hydration is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. It is absolutely crucial in keeping all of your body’s systems functioning properly. But recent studies have shown that American children are not getting the water intake they need, and are in fact, dehydrated. According to a study conducted by postdoctoral researcher Erica Kenney from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 25% of the broad cross-section of children from their study (ages 6 to 19) reported that they do not drink water as part of their fluid intake. She says that “even mild dehydration can affect children's fatigue levels, mood, and possibly their ability to learn.”
That’s why free, filtered water should be available to students throughout the day. Providing students with safe drinking water, and promoting the consumption of water throughout the school day is one important way that schools can support a healthy lifestyle for their students, and foster their ability to learn.
Bottle Filling Stations Increase Water Intake in Dehydrated Students
Health experts believe that schools need to do a better job of providing access to drinking water for their students. Adding bottle filling stations throughout your school is an easy way to achieve that goal. Bottle filling stations will give students the ability to take water with them to lunch, class, and after-school activities. They not only promote hydration, but they can also teach your students about sustainability. By using personal, reusable water bottles, we can keep thousands of plastic bottles out of landfills every year.
In 2016, Equiparts worked with the Pittsburgh Public School (PPS) District to facilitate the sale and distribution of nearly 300 new drinking fountains to all 70 PPS buildings. Most of those fountains included bottle filling stations. We recommend that all schools add bottle filling stations to their hallways to help encourage children to drink more water. On equipartsdrinkingfountains.com, you can compare Elkay, Oasis, Haws, Halsey Taylor, and Brita hydration stations easily and efficiently. Give one of our water cooler product experts a call to learn more about water coolers, and to find best the unit(s), parts, and filters to serve your school's needs: 800-442-6622 (M-F, 7:30AM-5PM EST).
View the CDC guide to Increase Access to Drinking Fountains in Schools for the information and tools your school needs to meet free drinking water requirements for NSLP and SBP programs and more.
View our selection of bottle filler units to find the bottle filling station that is best fitting for your school. View our bottle fillers by manufacturer:
• Elkay Bottle Fillers for Schools
• Oasis Bottle Fillers for Schools
• Halsey Taylor Bottle Fillers for Schools
• Murdock Bottle Fillers for Schools
• Haws/Brita Bottle Fillers for Schools