Imagine a hot summer day in New York City where the sun’s rays are beaming directly at you, the heatness and the humidity surrounding you with no escape to it. Now picture a hydration station strategically placed a couple of feet away from you, providing cold and refreshing water. Not only will this provide cleanliness to everyone who needs it but it will also contribute to environmental sustainability and it will promote health. In many urban areas such as NYC, access to clean and healthy water sources can be limited, which leads to the unnecessary consumption of plastic bottles which contributes to plastic waste pollution. NYC’s public areas such as parks, museums, and schools lack the source of hydration stations which will have visitors and locals tempted to buy water bottles, therefore introducing more hydration stations throughout the city that never sleeps will eliminate this problem. Some may argue that the introduction of hydration stations will be an unnecessary waste of funding for NYC, not only this but it will create many unsanitary problems. Therefore, I believe that increasing the number of hydration stations in colleges and public areas is crucial for less plastic waste, cleaner water, and healthier living.

Back on November 8, 2022, the people of New York City agreed to set $4.2 billion for projects to help the environment. This money can be used by government agencies, local governments, and partners to ensure that the water is clean, help neighborhoods, and make the city even stronger, as well as create more green jobs. Bond Act Funding will support new projects across the state. With the introduction of The Bond Act Fund, I believe a good amount of the funding should go to the creation of hydration stations throughout the city. In the article “New York City leaders propose turning some fire hydrants into drinking fountains” written by Dave Carlin in 2024, the idea of turning fire hydrants into hydration stations has been introduced by Councilmember Erik Bottcher, he claims that converting fire hydrants into hydration stations will reduce plastic waste as well as provide water to people who need it. The article states “Retrofitted hydrants could cut down on environmentally unfriendly plastic bottles and unhealthy sugary drinks”. Many may think how filthy and rusty these stations can get, but with the idea of the conversion, there will be daily “upkeep and monitoring” to ensure the stations don’t get vandalized. If this idea gets approved then the stations 

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would be up and running within two years. The idea of converting fire hydrants into hydration stations is an idea that should have been implemented, and this will not only save the city a lot of money but it will reduce plastic waste. 

Every time I visit the city with my friends, there is never a block I don’t walk on that doesn’t have a water bottle lying down on the floor. There needs to be an immediate change and with the funding the city is getting I believe adding more hydration stations will be a perfect fit. With the idea of converting fire hydrants into hydration stations, the Biden-Harris Administration also announced to fund $420 million for the New York water infrastructure. Having this investment in NYC will not only save a lot of money but it will keep the streets and the nearby oceans cleaner, which will reduce the world’s plastic pollution little by little. The Biden-Harris Administration will upgrade the clean water infrastructure, which will ensure families across New York are provided with safe drinking water that is free of contaminants. The funding for New York City will have a significant impact on the people and the environment. In the Article “Biden-Harris Administration announces $420 million for New York water infrastructure upgrades as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda” By EPA, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul claims “New York is making historic investments to upgrade our clean water infrastructure…Access to clean water and modern water systems is fundamental, and thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law, we’re sending a whopping $420 million flowing to upgrade New York’s water infrastructure.” I believe this is the start of a new big project, not only will New York City have cleaner water but by having the funding for it, it is already a big step to the problem.

While installing hydration stations may seem like a bright and safe idea at first glance, there are several drawbacks such as hygiene concerns. Maintaining hygiene standards at hydration stations can be very challenging, especially in busy areas such as parks and the city itself. There can be a spread of illnesses and contamination if cleaning and upkeep protocols aren’t followed. A research team wanted to test this theory and wanted to find out how clean hydration stations are. The researchers swabbed some popular locations such as airport and mall hydration stations and the results that they found were out of this world. Since many drinks from the same station it doesn’t mean it’s 

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safe either, in the article “Drinking Fountains Contain 50,000x More Bacteria Than Toilet Seats, Study Finds” written by Jamie Bichelman 2024, it states “Water fountains at the airport, they found, harbor more than 50,000 times the bacteria of a toilet seat. They also found that shopping malls contain the dirtiest water fountains overall, featuring over 30 million colony-forming units of type bacteria.” This was something that did not cross my mind, hundreds of people drink out of hydration stations, and without even knowing it can contain thousands of bacteria lurking in the water. Without even knowing the consumer drinks the water without any hesitation. Without any maintenance or protocols, the result of this is rapid bacterial growth in the stations, while having hydration stations is a smart idea, the real question is how long will they last until bacteria start growing and spreading?

In conclusion, while the installation of hydration stations presents a solution to cleaner water, reducing plastic waste, and promoting health, it is essential to keep in mind that it has many drawbacks and challenges that have to be faced first. Bacteria spread at these stations poses a concern for public health, and research has revealed that high levels of bacteria are present in today’s hydration stations. Despite the challenges, the lack of clean and accessible water remains an issue in NYC. With the inclusion of more plans and more funding for this situation, it will make NYC and the world a better place. The only way to start is to start big and I believe New York City is the perfect beginning to this plan.

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Self Reflection: 

During the process of this assignment there was a lot of deep researching and reading that had to be done in my part, and I believe it was the best part of this assignment because I learned about the new fire hydrant conversion NYC is working on that will convert them into hydration stations, which is such a brilliant idea, because in every corner of the streets of NYC there is a fire hydrant there. As I was revising my paper, I noticed how much more I am looking after my spelling and grammar although it may not be perfect. I am still working on it and it is something I need to improve on. 

In my writing I tried to keep the audience’s mind working and by this I added a question in the middle of the paper which I would hope leaves the reader thinking, not only will this make it interesting for my paper but I think it will be a mind opener and it wont make my assignment boring. In my eyes I believe it’s better to keep the reader engaged and keep their minds working because having a run on sentence will keep the reader bored and so uninterested. My goal for this paper was to hopefully make a change although this is just an assignment I hope it can be heard by more people as it is an actual concern for the city of New York. 

How I started this assignment was I went straight to writing my thesis, and from there I did a lot of research online trying to find as many articles for my argument, as well as a counter argument articles, and from there I read word by word and even watched videos to have a idea of what my paper was going to look like, and from there it all came together, although it was a massive task, it was a fun one that I would do again. With this assignment being done, now I want to do my part in helping NYC add hydration stations around public areas as it is much needed. As a heavy water drinker, I would love to see this more than anyone and since I spend most of my time in Times Square it’s almost impossible to find free water in outdoor areas, although it may seem like a challenge and open up many risks. I believe it will have more positives than negatives. 

References: 

-Carlin, D. (2024, February 8). New York City leaders propose turning some fire hydrants into drinking fountains. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-city-fire-hydrant-drinking-fountains/ 

-Crawford, I. (2024, February 20). Biden-Harris Administration announces $420 million for New York water infrastructure upgrades as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-420-million-new-york-water-infrastructure-1 

-Bichelman, J. (2024, January 8). Drinking fountains contain 50,000x more bacteria than toilet seats, study finds. Green Matters. https://www.greenmatters.com/health-and-wellness/are-water-fountains-clean#:~:text=General%20water%20refill%20stations%2C%20the,bacteria%20found%20in%20spoiled%20food