Student Water Consumption Study Description
Purpose: to determine the effect on student water consumption of increasing access to free tap water
through the installation of water filling stations (WFS) and the distribution of reusable water bottles.
School Sites: Two intervention and two control schools will be used, one each at the high school and
middle school level.
1. Skyline High School – intervention, high
2. Roosevelt Middle School – intervention, middle
3. Dewey or MetWest High – control, high
4. Madison – control, middle
Data Collection Schedule: Data will be collected when fountains are in service during breakfast (45
minutes prior to first period) and lunchtime in the cafeteria at fountains identified by Oakland Unified
School District (OUSD) for replacement with WFS units. Data will be collected prior to and following WFS
unit installation, and at 3-month, and possibly a 6-month, follow-up interval.
1. Intervention: pre-install (Pre) and post-install (Post) data will be collect just prior to and
following installation of WFS units
2. Follow-Up: follow-up (FU) data will be collected at approximately 3 months (and possibly 6
months) after Post data collection
Data Source (Student Water Consumption Tracking Sheet): For each data collection period, the Student
Water Consumption Tracking Sheet will be used to collect and record the following types of data:
1. Individual fountain visits (FV) to a fountain, collected through hand tally
2. Age class of fountain user (AC) – student (S) or Adult (A)
3. Gender of student or adult, male (M) or female (F)
4. Ethnicity or race, African American (AA), Asian/Pacific Islander (A), Latino (L), White (W), and
Other (O).
5. Time spent drinking water during each student visit (SD), collected as time student is drinking
from fountain water stream.*
6. Type of water container (WC) used during each fountain visit. Water containers will be recorded
as paper cups (P), as distributed, OUSD student-designed water bottles (DB), other nondistributed reusable water bottles (OB), and disposable plastic bottle (PB).
* Translate SD data into total gallons consumed (GC) by collecting the amount of water delivered (WD)
from each water fountain or fill station in a measuring cup during a 10 second period. Divide WD by 10
and multiply by SD. That number will represent the number of cups consumed. Then, convert that
number to GC by dividing by 16 (1 gallon = 16 cups).
Data Source (Student Water Survey): For each data collection period, the Student Water Survey will be
used to collect and record the following types of data:
1. An estimation of daily water consumption
2. An estimation of how much water is being consumed at school
3. Barriers to school water access
4. The effects of WFS implementation on water access
5. Grade level
Timeline: data collection will occur during the 2012/13 school year as follows:
1. Pre-installation (Pre) – within the first two weeks of school (August 27 - Sept 7, 2012) prior to
WFS unit installation.
2. Post-installation (Post) – within two weeks following WFS unit installation.
3. 3-month follow-up – the last two weeks before Winter break (December 10-21, 2012)
4. 6-month follow-up (if collected) – month of March.
Equipment/ Forms Needed:
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Stop watches (2)
Clip boards (2)
Student Water Consumption Tracking Sheet (20)
Measuring Cup (at least 4 cups)
Prior to Study Implementation:
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Hold an orientation meeting with the School Principal and Cafeteria Manager.
Communicate the names of the Water Study evaluators to the school before the water data
collection.
All evaluators should sign in at the main office to get guest passes, and should be led on campus
by certified school personnel.