EcoReps Restart the 2023 Hydrocup Challenge
From the 80:20 waste diversion program to dining hall foods that minimize environmental strain, Deerfield Academy has implemented many initiatives in service of its Sustainability Mission Statement to “preserve our heritage by operating in a manner that sustains our natural and human resources” and “model exemplary environmental stewardship”.
Run by students, EcoReps is the Deerfield organization dedicated to climate awareness and initiatives on campus. EcoReps restarted the Hydrocup Challenge this year to raise awareness about water conservation.
Throughout Earth Month this April, each Deerfield dorm competed to reduce the most water usage per person for the prizes of a dorm feed and Spikeball net. One of the heads of EcoReps, Edie Huffard ’25, said, “The main goal was to have different communities think about water consumption… how much water they use, how important water is to everyone and different ways that they use water.”
Field won the Hydrocup Challenge, followed by Mather and then Rosenwald-Shumway. Between March 20 and March 31, Field used 37 gallons of water per person per day, which decreased to an average of 27 gallons between April 24 and April 30. In the same time frame, Mather’s per person average decreased from 30 gallons to 28 gallons, and Rosenwald-Shumway’s per person average decreased from 35.5 gallons to 33.5 gallons. Overall, however, water usage actually increased from 32.9 gallons per person per day between March 20 and March 31 to 33.2 gallons per person per day between April 24 and April 30.
EcoRep Katie Bruno ’24 wrote that Deerfield Academy uses 18,000 gallons of water per day in total, which is about the size of a backyard pool. She also wrote that the dorms used a combined 600,000 gallons of water per month, which is about the same as an Olympic-sized pool.
In previous years, EcoReps has often organized Green Cup Challenges to conserve energy. However, Huffard explained that the EcoReps switched their focus to water conservation this year because “water affects everyone. Also, the water consumption in dorms is a lot easier to track than electricity. You use it every day, and it’s just easier to change your habits with [water].”
Huffard noted that students can easily grow indifferent to global water scarcity, saying, “Even though everything is beautiful and lush and green here …you should take a moment to appreciate how much water you use in a day to feel more connected to those people in the world who don’t have access to this water.”
Johnson proctor Ana Vizitiv ’23 agreed that Deerfield students are not mindful enough regarding water usage. She shared her observations moving from Moldova: “When I came to the US, I noticed that people here just don’t have such a big awareness of the resources that they have when it comes to food, to water, to life, to everything.”
She added, “In the US, especially here at Deerfield, there are resources you can use whenever you want. But in Moldova, because we are a very poor country and people don’t have the money to pay for water and electricity, they really take care of how much [water] they use.”
Vizitiv observed how many students produced unnecessary water waste and warned her Johnson proctees about leaving bathroom faucets running. Huffard also pointed out, “I don’t think anyone is intentionally wasting water, but it tends to be when someone brushes their teeth, and then the tap stays on for three minutes or in the showers and not turning it all the way off.”
Sasha Diamond ’25 also continued, “[water consumption] is something that people don’t think about that much. I don’t really notice a lot of conversations about that happening, so I think the Hydrocup was a good idea.”
Throughout the month, EcoReps promoted the challenge and updated the community through various means; Joe Berman ’25 and HD Lee ’24 made weekly sit-down announcements performing skits. Huffard said, “Joe and HD were balanced quite well with getting the message across, having a lot of fun, and engaging everyone. People tend to respond better to the super fun, high-energy water guns and Harry Potter as opposed to just someone standing up there and lecturing them.”
Director of Facilities Operations David Purington granted the EcoReps access to the school’s water databases to track how much water each dorm used. Every day in April, EcoReps compared the average water consumption per person in each dorm to the averages during the last week of March.
At the end of the challenge, Field reduced water consumption the most, followed by Mather and Rosenwald-Shumway. Huffard noted that “almost every dorm had a noticeable reduction of water consumption per person.”
Huffard said she hopes that water conservation “might cross [students’] mind[s] before they make a choice.” Mikaylah Meertins ’26 remarked that during the challenge, “there was one instance when I was like, ‘maybe I shouldn’t be taking such long showers.’”
Sasha Diamond also explored the challenge’s positive impact on him as a day student: “the challenge was a helpful reminder to think about it [water conservation] at my house, to take shorter showers, and be more mindful of water consumption.”
On the other hand, Ana Vivitiz ’23 said, “I really hope that there will be a change, but I don’t think there really was one.” She suggested that the EcoReps should “show examples of people in countries who lack water…people should see that it’s a struggle to have limited resources.”
When asked about how the Hydrocup Challenge could be improved, Diamond stressed that “there should have been more promotion”. Huffard added that EcoReps should improve on “communicating with everyone in terms of posters, bold announcements, and just continuing to make sure [the challenge] is a presence in people’s lives.”
Through initiatives like the Hydrocup Challenge, the EcoReps seek to continue increasing students’ sustainability awareness. As Huffard put it, “I just really hope that we are able to take a second to pause and think [about] how even our individual choices, when added up over an entire community, can make a relatively large impact.”