“If water was untreated all over the world we would most likely die or have some type of illness, because there are a lot of animals that are also drinking from that water, and some animals take baths in the same water. Without clean water, most water would be very contaminated and toxic to humans, kids and even other animals.” 

• Michelle Gutierrez, 8th grade

“It is very unfortunate that one billion children, fathers, mothers and other family members have to go through the daily struggle to access clean water. We all have to be grateful for what we have. Clean water matters to our community because there are so many positive effects of clean water, like health and education. If we didn’t have clean water, our community would suffer in so many ways.” 

• Jane Keen, 6th grade

“Water is something that we use in the United States freely, but also something that is a requirement to live. There is a difference between water usage for fun and water usage for required needs. For example, people in the U.S. water their grass. Meanwhile, there are kids in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia who are dying every 19 seconds because of their lack of clean water. When kids and adults do not have clean water, they can get sick. Diseases such as cholera and dysentery are linked to contaminated water and poor sanitation. It all ties together.”

• Kane Adon, 6th grade

“How can this still be an issue? Out of everything humanity has used to evolve and grow, there are very few things that they actually need to survive, except food and water. Especially water. Three weeks without food, three days without water and three minutes without air. The rule of three is only used on things that are absolutely essential in life, and among that rule is water. Clean water matters to a community because if they don’t have it, they will perish.” 

• Keegan Cunningham, 8th grade

“Up until this day, I never really thought about some people not having clean water. I was little and had other things on my mind, but now I think about it all the time along with other problems in the world. This is why we need to save our water, and get rid of things we don’t need that take up most of our water. So for the sake of our community, we need to conserve our water. We don’t want to become a country that is suffering with unclean water, because then we won’t be able to help the ones who need help now.”

• Leonora Serrano, 8th grade