PALM COAST — A new kind of water fountain at each of Flagler’s high schools will do more than offer students a quick slurp between classes: It will help them reduce the level of plastics in the environment.

The Elkay ezH2O doubles as both an ordinary drinking fountain and a water bottle filling station. Simple instructions for using the latter are printed on its steel surface.

Holding an empty 20-ounce bottle in front of a sensor activates the machine, which rapidly dispenses refrigerated, specially filtered water. Once the bottle is full, the machine automatically shuts off.

Over the summer, district employees installed one at Matanzas High School and another at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Students will see the machines for the first time Friday when they return for the new school year.

“We really think it’s going to be a hit,” said Peter Chichitano, plant services supervisor for Flagler Schools.

Chichitano was a driving force behind acquiring the stations. Last year, he brought the idea before plant services director David Freeman, who gave it his approval.

The stations encourage students to reuse water bottles rather than purchasing new ones from a vending machine. This not only saves students money, but it reduces the number of plastic bottles that are thrown away.

Matanzas Assistant Principal Ken Seybold believes this will appeal to students.

“Our kids are very eco-aware,” he said.

Reusing plastics is a theme that sometimes comes up in classes, and the school has developed a culture of environmental responsibility.

Even before the stations were purchased, Seybold noticed that students would try to refill water bottles from ordinary drinking fountains.

Each station has a digital counter that keeps track of fill-ups and displays the number of plastic bottles saved. As of Thursday, the Matanzas station had saved just over 200 — possibly because it has been discovered by district employees working during the summer. Collectively, all of Elkay’s machines have saved 6.68 billion plastic bottles since the manufacturer began to keep track, according to its website.

The station filters out aesthetic chlorine, some particulates and lead, although the latter is not a problem in modern schools. Filters are rated for 3,000 gallons, which is more than 19,000 20-ounce bottles. LED lights on the station indicate the status of the filter, switching from green to yellow to red. The last indicates that the filter needs replacing.

Even without a filter, the station would still dispense water at the same quality as that of the regular fountains, which also use filters.

The machine is hands-free, which promotes cleanliness. In addition, the laminar — or non-aerated — flow reduces the likelihood of splashing and picking up bacteria from the surrounding air.

School officials are also hoping the new stations will promote greater water consumption instead of sugary beverages.

Each machine costs about $1,100. By comparison, a regular drinking fountain runs about $900, according to Chichitano.

For now, each high school only has one station, but Matanzas will soon have a second. Administrators learned last week that the school has been approved for the “Making Water COOL In School” grant from Tap Water Watch, a nationwide team of water professionals that promotes safe drinking water.

The grant will pay for the second station, to be installed sometime in September or October.