HCDE impact: Bridging gaps to safe drinking water in Washington schools

Across the United States, students are still drinking from school water fountains that may contain lead, a neurotoxin that can affect how they grow, think, learn, and behave. The problem often stems from older buildings with aging plumbing and outdated fixtures, even when the city’s water supply is safe.

Katya Cherukumilli, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering and director of the Safe Water Equity & Longevity Lab, is leading research to study and address issues with drinking water quality in Washington schools. Working with the Washington State Department of Health (WA-DOH) and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Cherukumilli and her students are building an understanding of where lead contamination is happening, why many school districts have not yet applied for available funding to fix it, and how research can help bridge that gap.

The big picture: understanding barriers to safer water

Since 2018, the WA-DOH has collected data on lead levels in school drinking water across the state. State grants are available through OSPI to help schools replace lead plumbing and contaminated fountains, yet many districts haven’t applied for this funding. Cherukumilli is leading a team of HCDE students to understand what is preventing districts from applying for this funding, whether due to limited staff, lack of awareness about available support, or due to other pressing concerns in school districts.

“Many school districts, especially smaller or under-resourced districts, likely don't have staff dedicated to applying for grants, synthesizing data, or managing water infrastructure,” Cherukumilli said. “Drinking water quality becomes one of many competing priorities for schools, and without dedicated resources, it can fall off the priority list.”

Through Directed Research Groups, HCDE students are gaining hands-on experience applying design research to a real-world public health issue. They are analyzing publicly available lead water testing results, mapping water quality across the state, and linking it to data on student demographics and school building infrastructure. They have also developed surveys and interviews to better understand the unique challenges faced by school administrators and community members in different districts. Their ultimate goal is to develop tools that help schools across the country interpret available water quality testing data and take action to ensure their drinking water is safe.

Expanding impact: water quality on campus and beyond

Cherukumilli’s research goes beyond K–12 schools. At the University of Washington, she is leading a campus-wide study to evaluate drinking water infrastructure quality in campus buildings and to understand campus user perceptions and behaviors toward public drinking water sources. So far, students have designed and conducted infrastructure surveys in more than 50 buildings and launched an online user survey with over 1000 responses.

Cherukumilli’s lab also received a grant from the UW Campus Sustainability Fund to begin water quality testing in buildings with outdated water fixtures of concern to campus users.

With additional funding secured from the UW Student Technology Fee, the team acquired handheld X-ray fluorescence devices to test fixtures across campus to identify potential sources of contamination. 

“We’ve heard a wide range of concerns about drinking water on campus—issues with taste, smell, or appearance that vary by building and fixture type,” said Cherukumilli. “When people lose trust in tap water, they often turn to bottled water and plastic coolers that are shipped to the buildings, a practice that is costly and environmentally unsustainable.”

Looking ahead, Cherukumilli’s lab is preparing to study how wildfires affect drinking water infrastructure across Washington. As climate-related disasters become more frequent, understanding their effects on local water systems is increasingly urgent.

Across all of these projects, Cherukumilli and her students are applying human-centered design methods to make water quality data more accessible and actionable. Their work includes developing tools that help people interpret technical information, make informed decisions, and collaborate across departments and agencies. 

“We’re using HCDE expertise to bridge the gap between data and action,” Cherukumilli says. “We aim to collect and analyze critical data, help stakeholders understand what the data means, and collaborate with community partners and institutional leadership  to improve the drinking water systems we all rely on every day.”

Why continued funding matters

Cherukumilli’s team has laid the groundwork for success, from building partnerships, securing research approvals, and training student researchers. But without sustained funding, progress could stall.

“We’re coming up with ways to address this problem in a rapid, collaborative way. But in order to do that, we need to mobilize undergraduate and graduate student researchers and fund them. We need to be able to compensate study participants, buy critical lab supplies, and keep the projects moving forward,” Cherukumilli explains.

The research has the potential to support long-term improvements in how schools and universities manage water infrastructure and address water quality issues, but delays in funding mean missed opportunities. Districts may continue to leave funding unused, and other institutions across the country facing similar challenges may not benefit from UW’s findings.

“These are preventable problems,” Cherukumilli said. “What we need now is support to keep the work going. Otherwise, we risk staying stuck in the status quo—where we know there’s an important problem but aren’t doing enough to fix it.”