Drinking water is no longer only good for you. It’s good for the world.

Bethesda restaurants teamed up with the UNICEF Tap Project to raise money for access to clean water around the world.

Two Bethesda restaurants, the Mussel Bar and Jaleo, donated $1 for each glass of tap water poured during World Water Week from March 20 to 26. The donations went directly to UNICEF, which will use the money to help bring access to clean water to children in developing countries.

“UNICEF’s Tap Project is really about raising awareness of the fact that over 900 million people around the world do not have access to good, clean, healthy drinking water,” UNICEF spokesperson Lauren Monahan said.

Nearly 1.4 million children die of waterborne diseases every year, the second-highest cause of preventable childhood death, according to www.water.org.

The Tap Project encourages people to help change that statistic without asking for huge donations. Servers at participating restaurants offer customers the option to match the restaurants’ donations of $1 for each glass of tap water consumed. One dollar buys enough clean water for a child to live on for 40 days, Monahan said.

Many customers didn’t hesitate to donate when given the option, said Maxwell Lipp, manager of the Mussel Bar in Bethesda.

“We’re now raising even more money through this project than ever before,” he said.

The Tap Project has expanded since it began five years ago with 300 participating restaurants in New York City, Monahan said. A record high of 3,000 restaurants across the country are involved in the project this year. UNICEF raised about $2.5 million over the last five years of the campaign.

Junior Tanvee Singh, who frequents Jaleo and the Mussel Bar and donated to UNICEF, said students can feel removed from the international issue of clean water, but the Tap Project helps raise awareness.

“By living in affluent Bethesda, the reality that so many children are without clean water access doesn’t seem as real, but by showing customers how much a dollar can do, these restaurants are helping vast amounts of people,” she said. “And I’m sure that Bethesdans can spare a buck or two for this great cause. All we have to do is just keep the drinks coming.”