Evanston will hold an art and photography contest for elementary, middle and high school students in celebration of a national campaign.

National Drinking Water Week, which runs from May 3-9, draws attention to the role of water in society. The campaign each year encourages municipalities and organizations nationwide to create a theme and host art contests and events, said Kumar Jensen, the city’s sustainability fellow.

The contest, which is involving more school grades than in previous years, is open to third grade students and sixth through 12th grade students. Third graders can submit artwork, while the sixth through twelfth graders can submit original photographs.

The theme for both the national campaign and the city’s contest is “drinkability,” or the ability to have clean water when needed.

“It’s important for everyone in most communities to acknowledge the importance of drinking water and how it’s not necessarily available to everyone and why it’s important to preserve it,” Jensen said.

Jensen also commented on the funds that go into drinkability.

“It’s not necessarily guaranteed that there is always going to be money dedicated towards the infrastructure that’s required to allow us to have clean drinking water, so it’s important to reflect on the benefits of it,” he said.

Submissions are accepted until March 16 and winners will be announced April 27, according to the city.

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