If you’re a student at Ventura High School, chances are you’ve used one of the hydration stations at VHS, or you know of someone who has.

Now most students are aware that there are two hydrations stations on campus; one located in the cafeteria and another located up at the stadium, however, how much do students actually know about the hydration stations?

The question may appear comical, however, upon my trip to the cafeteria’s hydration station, I was concerned to see a glaring red light on the machine I was about to drink from. What this light signals, is the filter status on the hydration station. The three colors, green, yellow and red, indicate the filter’s life status.

According to VHS’s head custodian, Ray Morales, “The water is still fine to drink from if the light is red.”

How long does the light remain red though, and how does the filter get replaced? 

The light remains red for about “two weeks on average,” according to Morales, and the district facilities team -specifically the plumbers- are responsible for routine maintenance and replacing the filters.

According to assistant principal, Susan Eberhart, “[Only] the district has the filter replacements.”

So although replacing the filter could be an easy fix in theory, the district facilities team has the filter replacements, as the hydration stations were first installed due to “a grant received from the district,” Eberhart added.

According to ELKAY product manager, Nick Nanos, the function of the hydration station  filter is to “remove unpleasant taste and Odor, as well as lead.”

The cafeteria’s hydration station had its filter replaced recently, when Morales saw a district plumber and asked him to fix it.

Why the filters take about two weeks to change is explained by Morales: “There are only three plumbers for the 29 sites, and one of them is currently injured, so they’re very backed up.”

In addition to replacing the filter, the VHS hydration stations require routine cleaning and maintenance.

According to Morales, “[The unit and flexible fill mat] are cleaned daily by the night shift custodian.”

Eberhart concluded, saying “We love that students are using the hydration stations and we want more. [The problem is] that we can’t put them outside where they could be vandalized or used by dogs, we need some place more secure. So looking into a caged [hydration station] could be a [potential] option.”