Everyday, you drink it and bathe in it. Some days you have to walk to class in it. You can swim in it and use it for a variety of different reasons.
Water is something many people do not have to worry about. They don't have to worry about where it's coming from or if it is clean. But that's not true in many parts of the world.
"One Water," a film by Sanjeev Chatterjee, shows the relationships that humans around the world have with water and the water crisis happening around the globe.
The film is being shown at the Jule Collins Smith Muse- um April 2-5 as part of Auburn University's Research Week.
"It started with the very simple instinct of bringing visual evidence of the water- stressed relationship of human beings to water," Chatterjee said.
For the film, Chatterjee traveled to 22 countries and filmed various interactions of people and water.
The film has four versions: nonverbal, feature, concert and television, each differing in length and content, Chatterjee said.
The nonverbal version, which is 22 minutes long and has footage from five different countries, will be shown for the Research Week presentation.
"This was the first version of the film, and the idea was to bring visual evidence, bring something [I] saw to life for people," Chatterjee said.
Chatterjee said the film is meant to generate discussion about water and the different issues that people face, such as water scarcity and problems with water drinkability.
Jay Lamar, director of operations in the Office of Special Programs, is helping to lead a discussion panel after the screening of "One Water."
Lamar also helped create this year's annual edition of "Auburn Speaks," a publication that showcases research efforts being conducted at the University.
This year, the book's focus was water, Lamar said.
"I hope that in regards to 'Auburn Speaks' and 'One Water,' students take the book, come to the session and come back with a fuller understanding of the significance of water and our world today," Lamar said.
Water and awareness of water crises should be familiar to students who followed this year's Miss Auburn campaign.
Tara Jones, who was elected Miss Auburn, ran on the platform "Tara for Water," raised thousands of dollars and called attention to the water crisis around the world.
"Having Miss Auburn focused on water speaks to the engagement of our students and their understanding that they are in a position to leverage a lot of resources to work toward issues that are important to all of us," Lamar said. "I think the power of students here at Auburn to address those issues is just enormous."
However, many students do admit to not being aware of the issues with water.
"Living on the coast most of my life, I've never been anywhere that water scarcity was a problem," said Stephen Striepe, senior in finance.
Chatterjee said his background exposed him to water scarcity, making it something he relates to on a personal level.
Having lived in India for some time, Chatterjee saw first-hand evidence of water scarcity in some areas around the country.
Now, living in Miami, Chatterjee said he doesn't see as much evidence of water scarcity and other water related issues, even though Miami is a water-stressed city.
"If I please, I can take a long shower right now, or I can empty my pool and fill it up at no significant cost or effort," Chatterjee said. "But that's not true for most of the world."
More information about the film and other activities surrounding the film can be found at its website, onewater.org.
Tickets for the event, which is free and open to the public, can be reserved at jcsm.auburn.edu.
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