Water is the most essential resource on the planet, yet many Americans do not know that clean, reliable water is far from guaranteed. According to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water services. It is mission-critical that students understand the global water crisis and are prepared to respond to climate change, aging infrastructure, population growth, and the strain on water systems worldwide from data centers. Presenting learning in this way, not only as an environmental challenge but also as a STEM-rich, real-world project-based learning opportunity, is how we cultivate talent to solve wicked problems.
For low-income students and students of color, who are disproportionately affected by water insecurity in the United States and beyond, this topic is more than academic. It is personal, empowering, and transformative. For many in rural America, boil water notices are a regular occurrence, the norm, and those notices do not make the evening news.
Water Is a Real-World Anchor for Engaging, Meaningful STEM
The global water crisis gives students a concrete, relatable way to explore science, technology, engineering, and math. Why, because water is a constant in the life of every living thing. With STEM as your vehicle of exploration, it is unlimited in the paths we can take towards solving the water crisis the world is experiencing:
- Science: water chemistry, microorganisms, contaminant pathways
- Technology: sensors, data logging, apps that track water use
- Engineering: water filtration systems, watershed design, infrastructure innovation
- Math: statistical analysis, data visualization, predictive modeling
When students are provided real-world challenges to solve, they immediately connect and value the learning experience, something I have seen too many times to count. Providing opportunities for students to test water quality, analyze community data, design low-cost solutions, or model the impact of climate change are activities that mirror real STEM careers.
Sources: https://washdata.org, https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report
Water Access Is an Equity Issue Students Deserve to Understand
Through lived experiences, poverty is characterized by insufficient resources and inadequate advocacy. Having lived in communities that have experienced historic disinvestment, discriminatory policies, and infrastructure neglect. It is Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income communities that experience higher rates of incidences with lead exposure, boil advisories, and unsafe water systems, intertwining environmental injustice in the water crisis (Jenkins et al., 2025, p. 1-9).
Teaching students about water through a STEM lens prepares them to think analytically about how environmental and economic systems intersect with science. It also empowers them to become informed advocates for their homes and communities.
Sources: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice, https://naacp.org
Project-Based Water Studies Build Career-Ready Skills
Research from the U.S. Department of Education, which is currently being dismantled, shows that project-based STEM learning boosts engagement, comprehension, and long-term retention for all students, including historically underserved students. The water crisis is well-suited to hands-on inquiry.
Examples include:
- Designing and testing simple water filtration systems
- Mapping local water violations using free Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools
- Using recycled and reused materials to create prototypes to conserve water in homes or schools
- Analyzing school or community water use and consumption trends
- Building low-cost sensors with Arduino or microcontrollers
The aforementioned are examples of activities that cultivate skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, data literacy, collaboration, iterative design, and technical communication, the same competencies needed in engineering, public health, environmental science, sustainability management, and beyond.
Sources: https://www.ed.gov/stem, https://education.nationalgeographic.org
Culturally Responsive STEM Starts with Students’ Lives
Unfortunately, for many low-income students and students of color, access to clean, drinkable water isn’t theoretical; it’s a lived experience. Partnerships that help schools cultivate lessons grounded in the water crisis to validate students’ realities and invite them to connect scientific learning with cultural knowledge, community stories, and personal history, so they can participate in solving this crisis. In 2025, more than 50% of school cafeterias in the U.S. did not offer free drinking water, and according to UNICEF USA, billions of people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water for hygiene and sanitation.
Teaching about the water crisis is culturally responsive C-STEM Pedagogy in action. Relevant learning helps students see themselves as problem-solvers and doers in their own hoods. It allows students to turn STEM into a tool for empowerment and not experience it as a barrier to change.
Classrooms can participate in active learning:
- Interview community members about water experiences
- Analyze local news or historical documents about water issues
- Engage with water utilities, tribal councils, or local environmental leaders
- Use bilingual resources to ensure inclusive community participation
Sources: https://www.learningforjustice.org, https://watersways.si.edu
Low-Cost, High-Impact Ways Schools Can Teach the Water Crisis
The “AI and Water Management for a Better World” C-STEM Challenge curriculum and toolkits offer low-cost, high-impact ways for PreK-12 schools to teach and engage students on the water crisis. Further, schools can use:
- Simple water test kits
- Free apps, open datasets, or Google Earth
- Household materials (sand, gravel, charcoal) to create filtering prototypes
- Community partnerships for guest speakers, data, and site visits
- Performance assessments like portfolios, water reports, or presentations
With some intentionality and creativity, all classrooms can provide rigorous, engaging STEM learning.
Conclusion: Water Education Is a Moral and Educational Imperative
The global water crisis is a scientific and human challenge. Teaching about this crisis through the lens of STEM helps students better understand the world around them and the challenges posed by inequities, and it can inspire them to design innovative solutions. For low-income students and students of color, this approach offers something even more powerful: agency, relevance, and a pathway to futures in which they are the engineers, scientists, policymakers, and leaders we urgently need.
When we teach about water, we’re not just teaching STEM. We’re teaching environmental advocacy. We’re inspiring innovation. We’re preparing our future leaders.
At C-STEM, we have long recognized the need to support education. Creating water sustainability is a core focus for students who participate in our programs. In fact, we have long celebrated teaching our students about the plight of sea turtles, and we recently added underwater robotics offerings for both our students and teachers (in the form of training and toolkits). The global water crisis will continue, and we must do everything we can to prepare today’s students to develop tomorrow’s solutions.
