Hydration Stations: an expensive luxury, not a necessity
The cost of Hydration Stations may outweigh their usefulness
July 7, 2026
The value of hydration stations varies from person to person. This state is an undeniably “damp” state to say the least. Though depending on the year and person, the actual desire for hydration stations is up for debate for different reasons.
Some people, even native Washingtonians, still carry their own water bottles. The water bottle friendly hydration station allows students to easily place and fill their bottle without much difficulty. But couldn’t the same be said for just an average water fountain?
The angle someone would have to put their bottles while filling them could be a bit awkward, or their lack of desire for their personal water bottle coming into contact with the fountain’s focette that many people’s breath and hands have touched before.
This avoidance of germs is understandable, and there is the fact that there are many water fountains in the school that have different outputs of water, one may shoot a small puddle of liquid while the other right next to it would shoot out a high enough stream that the water would splash everywhere.
The cost of hydration stations would be far too much compared to the frequency they would be used as well. The price for a simple water fountain seems to be far less than that 1 foot longer extension that the hydration station is made up of.
As Spring comes rushing in with dry and hot days, it is always important to remain hydrated. But the ease and abundance of normal water fountains removes any real need for most students to have a personal water bottle at their side at all times, with a few exceptions based on people’s personal health and other situations.
Hydration stations would be more of a waste of money and resources than the value of having them everywhere. The ones the school already has (the one in the Cascade’s 4th floor and the one in the HEC hallway), seem to be enough for the students who truly need such a convenience. Especially the Cascade’s station, given it is close to the very hub of the college that is the 4th floor.