For the New Year, I made it my personal resolution to stay hydrated, to drink at least six hydro flasks worth of water everyday.  Over break I was constantly refreshed; water flowed plentifully from my sink into my bottle. However, as soon as school started, I instantly failed in keeping up with my new habit.

I found it nearly impossible to stay hydrated during school hours due to the hit-or-miss water fountains.  Sometimes I would go to a fountain and it wouldn’t even turn on, there would only be a disappointing stream of nothing running down the spigot. Sometimes I would go to a fountain and a faint trickle would ooze out, not nearly strong enough to drink from, let alone fill a water bottle.  The only fountain that seemed to work was the one in the 1000 building, above the student store; it seems as if all the water pressure in the school goes to this one fountain.

Needless to say, it was difficult to quench my thirst.

Luckily, I may be very well able to carry on with my New Year’s resolution thanks to senior Davis Porath’s Genius Project.  He doesn’t have a name for it quite yet, but the basic gist is that he is installing those futuristic water bottle fillers around the campus.  Yes, the ones you see at the airports.  And yes, this is going to solve our water problems.  

“[I was inspired when I saw] a good friend of mine… carrying around three different water bottles [as] she couldn’t refill them [at the water fountains],” Porath said.

Since that fateful day, Porath has made it his personal quest to lead the attack against faulty fountains everywhere and bring about an era of plenty, a world where the children of tomorrow don’t have to worry about whether they will be able to stay properly hydrated at school.

Porath has already made progress in bringing his Genius Project to life. He’s had multiple meetings with administration about planning and funding, even getting in contact with Elkay, the company in charge of installation.  

“[I plan on giving a presentation to the PTSA and Sage Creek Foundation,  [as they are] giving out money right now for Genius Projects,” Porath said.

If Porath cannot acquire money from the district or administration, then that will add another layer of challenges to the project as he now has to worry about fundraising on top of everything else.

“[Another]  challenge has been communicating with different companies as the people… won’t get back to me very quick,” Porath said.  

English teacher Corrie Myers commented on the practicality of having bottle filling stations, and how the culture of the school calls for it.  

“[Sage Creek is] a green school, we are very innovative in how we do things,” Myers said.

Sage Creek has always been a leader in technological innovations, from utilizing iPads in math to Chromebooks in English, Sage is a very tech-savvy school.  The water stations would align with the forward-thinking theme that is already prevalent on campus.

Porath’s end goal for his Genius Project is to have “at least five [stations], one for each of the three main buildings, one for the 5000 building, and one for the lunch area.”

Students are already excited about the potential of having bottle-filling stations around the campus.  Junior Jordan Lee, a track athlete who has rigorous practice everyday after school, is excited for the possibility of these new fountains. 

“[With the water bottle fillers] I would be able to get the water I need rather than having to conserve the water I have in my bottle… [the stations] would be a huge benefit,” Lee said.

Apart from bringing a reliable source of potable water to Sage Creek, Porath hopes his project will “inspire students to enact change for what they believe in.” Porath was one student that was able to make a change when he saw something that he thought could be better. He believes that his fellow students can too.

You can stay updated on Davis Porath’s Genius Project at his website https://dporath.weebly.com/