Age
12
Country of Residence
United States
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
When I was nine, I was waiting for the shower water to get warm. Like I normally did, I turned it on and stood there waiting. I started thinking about all the clean water going straight down the drain before I even stepped into the shower. I asked my parents how much water we were actually wasting. When we looked into it, I was shocked. A family can waste thousands of gallons of clean water every year just waiting for hot water. My first idea was simple: put a bucket under the shower and use that water for plants instead of letting it go down the drain. But then I wondered, why do we have to waste that water in the first place? I learned about hot-water recirculation pumps, which can bring hot water to the faucet faster. I was surprised that something that could help save so much water already existed, but many families didn't know about it. That was when Save Drop really clicked for me. I realized I didn't have to invent a huge solution by myself. I could start by helping people notice water waste, share solutions that already exist, and get other kids involved too. I was nine, but I knew I could at least start.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I usually start by showing kids that saving water doesn't have to be complicated. Every week, I teach water conservation activities to 450+ kids through our Water Warriors program. We talk about where water gets wasted and things they can actually do at home, like collecting cold shower water and reusing it. I want them to go home and get their families involved too. Kids who want to do more can join Save Drop, become youth ambassadors, or help lead a club at their school. We now have 100+ school clubs and 75+ youth ambassadors. Our core team meets every Monday, and our ambassadors bring Save Drop ideas into their own schools and communities. I also encourage them to come up with their own ideas instead of only doing mine. I try to give adults and businesses ways to participate too. Families can support our petition for recirculation-pump incentives, and restaurants can join #ServeHalfGlass. So far, our petition has 600+ signatures, and more than 20 restaurant locations across 11 states have joined the campaign. I think people are more likely to care about a problem when you give them something they can actually do about it.
How many people are on your team?
12
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
What makes me happiest about Save Drop is seeing other kids start caring about water and taking action themselves. What began with me putting a bucket under my shower has grown into kids taking action in their own communities. So far, Save Drop and our team have reached over 1 million people with our water conservation message. We have 100+ school clubs and 75+ youth ambassadors helping bring these ideas into their schools and communities. Through Water Warriors, hundreds of kids regularly learn about water and simple actions they can take at home. We have also taken our ideas beyond schools. More than 20 restaurant locations across 11 states have joined #ServeHalfGlass. Our petition supporting incentives for hot-water recirculation pumps has received 600+ signatures, and I wrote to governors in all 50 states asking them to support water conservation. Save Drop has also given me opportunities to share this message with bigger audiences, including speaking at TEDx and participating as the youngest delegate at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. My work has been recognized through the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and Action For Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Award. But what means the most to me is when another kid takes an idea, shares it with others, and starts creating change in their own community.
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Scaling (We’re expanding impact to new locations or in new and innovative ways)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Save Drop is a youth-led effort helping kids take action on two big water challenges: wasting clean water and not having enough safe water to use. Through Water Warriors, school clubs, community campaigns, and projects like BioLayer, we are finding simple ways to save water, teaching others why every drop matters, and exploring affordable ways to make water cleaner and safer for everyone.
Project title
Save Drop
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Water is something many of us use without thinking about where it comes from or how much we waste. I see clean water running down drains while people wait for showers to get warm, full glasses of water left on restaurant tables, and other small amounts of waste that add up every day. At the same time, having water doesn't always mean having safe water. Contaminants like lead can make water unsafe to drink, and solutions can be expensive or difficult for some families and communities to access. To me, it doesn't make sense that we waste so much clean water while other people struggle to get enough safe water. I also realized that many kids don't think they can do much about these problems. Water issues can seem too big or like something only governments and adults can solve. That's another problem I want Save Drop to change. I want kids to understand where their water goes, find waste in their own homes and communities, and do something about it. Whether it's saving the cold water from a shower, asking a restaurant to serve less water upfront, learning about water-saving technology, or testing new ideas for cleaner water, I want taking care of water to become something we all feel responsible for.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Website: savedrop.org Instagram: @savedrop2024 Facebook: @savedrop2024 Nithya’s Instagram: @nithyatammana
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I want Save Drop to reach more kids, but I also want the kids already involved to become stronger leaders. My goal is to grow our school clubs and youth ambassador network and give students more activities they can lead in their own schools and communities. I also want to take #ServeHalfGlass to the next level. We have restaurants participating in 11 states, and my next goal is to approach national restaurant chains like Olive Garden. If even one large chain starts serving half a glass first and refilling when customers want more, the idea could reach thousands of tables every day. I also want to keep advocating for incentives for hot-water recirculation pumps and turn our petition into conversations with local and state leaders. Another big goal is BioLayer. My first prototype showed promising results with lead, but I still have a lot to learn. I want to test it with different water samples and contaminants, improve the design, and see if it could eventually become an affordable solution people can actually use. Most of all, I want more kids to come up with their own water-saving ideas, try them in their communities, and share what works with the rest of us.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
A lot of water programs focus on telling people to use less water. Save Drop is different because I wanted to give people simple things they could actually do, and I wanted kids to be part of finding the solutions, not just learning about the problem. For example, I started by asking families to catch the cold water that normally goes down the drain while a shower warms up and reuse it. Then I learned about hot-water recirculation pumps and started advocating for incentives to make them easier for families to install. I also noticed a completely different kind of waste at restaurants. Instead of asking people to drink less water, I created #ServeHalfGlass. Restaurants start with half a glass and customers can always ask for more. It is a small change, but it prevents untouched water from being poured out after a meal. More recently, I started thinking about the other side of the problem: what if you have water, but it isn't safe? I created BioLayer, a low-cost filter made with pebbles, sand, activated charcoal, and sphagnum moss. My prototype costs less than $38, uses no electricity, and doesn't require disposable plastic filter cartridges. In my early testing with lead-contaminated water, BioLayer reduced the lead to a non-detectable level after three filtration rounds. I am still testing and improving it. What makes Save Drop different to me is that there isn't just one answer. I look for water problems in everyday life, ask why they are happening, and try solutions that people can actually use. Sometimes that means changing a habit, sometimes advocating for an existing technology, and sometimes building something new.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Save Drop started with a bucket under my shower, but I quickly learned that saving water takes more than one solution. My goal is to give kids simple ways to take action and then help them bring those ideas to their families, schools, and communities. Through our Water Warriors program and 100+ school clubs, kids learn where water gets wasted and take on challenges to reduce it. One of our first actions was encouraging families to collect the cold water that runs while a shower heats up and reuse it for plants, cleaning, or other purposes. But I also learned about hot-water recirculation pumps, which can prevent much of that waste. I started a petition asking for incentives to make these systems more affordable and wrote to leaders across the country about the idea. Then I started noticing water waste outside the home. At restaurants, I often saw full or half-full glasses left on tables. That led to #ServeHalfGlass, which asks restaurants to serve half a glass first and refill it when customers want more. Restaurants in multiple states have joined the effort. Save Drop is also growing from conserving water to thinking about clean water. I created BioLayer, a low-cost filter using pebbles, sand, activated charcoal, and sphagnum moss. In my early testing, it removed detectable lead from a contaminated water sample after three filtration rounds. I am continuing to test and improve it. What I like most is seeing one idea lead to another. We try something, learn from it, and then find another place where we can help save or protect water.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Our core team has 12 members, including me. We meet every Monday to share updates, plan what to work on next, and talk about new ideas. Team members help lead school clubs, Water Warriors activities, outreach, social media, and campaigns. I don't want Save Drop to be just my ideas, so everyone can suggest projects and take the lead on things they care about. Our 100+ youth volunteers help bring these efforts to their own communities.
