"Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink." Turns out that Coleridge's ol' sea salt was right all along (the United Nations estimates that 5.5 billion people will lack adequate access to fresh water in the next 20 years), and a competition announced today by AIGA asks design students to communicate the global water crisis to a 21st-century audience. So put down that Evian bottle and listen up: this is the inaugural Aspen Design Challenge, a new annual international design competition developed by AIGA and global nonprofit design network INDEX to engage the millennial generation in solving global problems. And what better problem to start with than water scarcity? Issued as part of the Aspen Design Summit, Designing Water's Future is a collaboration between Circle of Blue and COLLINS:, the New York City-based design firm founded by the never-watered-down Brian Collins.

Here's how it works: Students and faculty from around the world develop ideas and submit proposals by December 2008. Then, in February of 2009, an international jury of design and environmental leaders will select contest finalists. The lucky finalists will have the opportuniy to fine tune their ideas at the Aspen Environment Forum and [cue big finish] those solutions will be discussed at the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and the World Business Summit on Climate Change. Thirsty to compete? The online entry system launches October 1, but in the meantime, get all of the details on joining the challenge here.