FONTANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As America’s schools reopen and make plans for Back-to-School this Fall, safe and sanitary drinking water is top-of-mind for school administrators and facility managers across the country. With the CDC calling for the replacement of high-touch, communal fixtures, such as water fountains, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Fontana Unified School District (FUSD) is replacing numerous communal water fountains and jug dispensers in all District-wide schools with fully ‘touchless’, self-sanitizing FloWater Refill Stations.
FUSD is among the many school districts across the US taking advantage of available CARES Act funds to cover the costs of upgrading the safety and quality of their drinking water as part of new protocols for safely reopening their facilities for students, teachers and staff.
“The safety of our students is our foremost priority. We selected FloWater Refill Stations because we wanted to ensure safe drinking water for all of our students and staff,” says Randal S. Bassett, Superintendent of Schools at FUSD.
The new-tech FloWater Refill Stations are free-standing and easy to install, connecting to any potable water line within 100 feet, meaning that most schools can simply replace their old water fountains or jug dispensers in the same location.
The FloWater Refill Stations eliminate the risk of communal surface cross-contamination of COVID-19, while saving schools the time and expense of having their custodial staffs continually wiping down water fountain surfaces.
FUSD is installing 170 FloWater Refill Stations with foot pedal activation devices at 48 sites consisting of pre-K-12 schools, adult and continuing education and operational facilities.
FloWater’s Advanced Osmosis water purification technology removes up to 99.99 % of all toxins and contaminants in water, including viruses, bacteria, heavy metals like lead and arsenic, chemicals, and microplastics. Self-sanitizing, FloWater Refill Stations also have a large fill area with a fully recessed dispensing nozzle with no bottle contact, eliminating potential cross-contamination from bottle to bottle.
“Before COVID, we were seeing a high demand as schools looked to eliminate plastic waste. Additionally, surveys showed that students drank more water, were better hydrated, had more energy, and consumed less sugary beverages where FloWater Refill Stations were installed. Now, we are working with school officials across the country to have their safe drinking water solutions in place before their students and staff return this Fall,” according to FloWater CEO and Co-Founder, Rich Razgaitis.
The FloWater technology also alkalizes and oxygenates the water and adds electrolytes for better hydration. A carbon coconut filter ‘finishes’ the chilled water for a great taste.
More information on FUSD COVID safety operations can be found here.
More information on FloWater’s ‘Touchless’ solution can be found at: www.drinkflowater.com.
About Fontana Unified School District
The Fontana Unified School District is located in Southern California in what is known as the Inland Empire, a fast-growing community 50 miles east of Los Angeles. Our 45 schools serve students from preschool through adult education in a diverse urban/suburban environment. Fontana's schools are recognized nationwide for their fast growth in student achievement.
About FloWater
Recognized by Inc. and the Financial Times as one of America’s fastest growing companies and honored by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea, FloWater is the world’s first company building a comprehensive platform of water purification products. The FloWater team is passionate about eliminating plastic waste and providing safe, great-tasting drinking water to everyone, wherever they are. Today, some of the world’s best brands hydrate with FloWater, including Hyatt, Google, Red Bull, Play Station, Specialized Bikes, Microsoft, Club Pilates, Hulu, Urban Remedy, and O’Neill. FloWater delivers meaningful impacts for health and well-being, boosting hydration 200-500% while reducing the consumption of coffee and sugary beverages by 50%. Since the company’s launch, FloWater’s Refill Stations have saved over 320 million plastic water bottles from entering the environment and are on target to hit one billion by the end of 2022. For more information, visit www.drinkflowater.com and follow FloWater on Facebook and Instagram.