This week, The New York Times magazine had an article about a subject that is probably very new to may people in the USA. The article details the problems that the Western US is having finding enough drinking water and the costs associated with developing new sources.

Some of this problem is due to drought and some us due simply to the fact that the desert (and I emphasize desert) Southwest does not have the resources to support the population that is living there.

Add to this the recent stories about the Atlanta area running dangerously close to running out of drinking water due to the fact that their main reservoir is 90 days away from being empty and you get an idea how many people can be effected by this issue.

For more than five months, the lake that provides drinking water to almost five million people here has been draining away in a withering drought. Sandy beaches have expanded into flats of orange mud. Tree stumps not seen in half a century have resurfaced. Scientists have warned of impending disaster.

And life, for the most part, has gone on just as before.

Part of caring for creation is wise use of the resources that God has blessed us with. Water is one of those valuable and blessed resources.

There are a lot of ways that we can change our habits to be more considerate of the water that we are given. Things like making sure your household plumbing is efficient and “leak-free”, planting native landscapes, taking shorter showers and not letting the faucet run when you are brushing your teeth. Projects like water collection that gather and store storm runoff for later use and plumbing projects that take “grey water” and recycle it for non-drinking uses (like toilets) are ways to better use the resources we are given.

It could be that we have taken fresh water, like many abundant God-given resources, for granted for too many years in the US. Could now be the time to change our thinking?