Water You Talking About? U of A students work to promote conscious water usage in their community

SDGSA Executives, Hana Elgaweesh (left) and Morgan Vany (right), at the SDG Intro Fair.

Successful marketing strategies have led to the public belief that bottled water may be safer for human consumption than tap water. While this may be true in some areas, a University of Alberta club has committed to fighting this narrative within the larger Edmonton community. 

The Sustainable Development Goals Student Alliance (SDGSA) has a goal of raising awareness around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The club’s ultimate mission is to cultivate an equitable and environmentally responsible community by engaging, educating and inspiring individuals about the SDGs across Edmonton. The Sustainability Council has awarded the group with a Campus Sustainability Leaders Award, which recognizes individuals or groups at the University of Alberta who demonstrate exceptional leadership in advancing the SDGs, both on campus and in the local community.

The SDGSA has developed a water conservation campaign titled, “Water You Talking About?” As the name suggests, the club seeks to educate students, staff, faculty and community members on responsible water usage, and the benefits of drinking tap water instead of bottled water. 

Drinking bottled water is much more water-intensive than consuming tap water. According to some estimates, producing 1 litre of bottled water requires a staggering 3 litres of water due to production and transportation. In other words, it takes more water to make a plastic bottle than it actually holds!

To help combat this problem, the SDGSA has created an engaging activity for students, staff, faculty and community members to participate in. In this activity, participants taste unmarked samples of both tap and bottled water and try to “taste the difference” between them. 

“A lot of people prefer the taste of tap water, but are surprised when we reveal the answer,” says Morgan Vany, Co-President of the SDGSA. “Many people expect bottled water to be higher quality than tap, but that often isn’t true in Edmonton.”

The campaign, which directly relates to SDG #6 Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG #14, Life Below Water, was first delivered in March 2025 as part of Sustainable Development Goal Month, a nation-wide celebration meant to increase awareness for the SDGs. This year, the group was present at the SDG Intro Fair in March 2026, engaging with students, staff, faculty and the wider community. 

“The SDGSA wants to engage with as many people as possible. We hope to get them thinking about conscious water usage — it’s a topic that affects all of us,” says Vany. 

The SDGSA’s “Water You Talking About” event is just one example of the University’s promotion of conscious water usage on campus and in the wider community. With a robust Water Management Plan in place, the University has implemented formal measures that demonstrate its dedication to resource conservation and social responsibility across campus and the wider Edmonton region. The University’s free Massive Open Online Course, Mountains 101, offers dedicated lessons on water cycles, biodiversity, and how they are protected. Additionally, Indigenous and Water Rights Activist Autumn Peltier visited the U of A in September 2026 to speak with students and community members about addressing critical human rights and environmental challenges.