Clean water should be accessible for everyone everywhere

Dear editor,

Shouldn’t we be able to keep our back yards and front yards nice and green with plenty of water? Do farmers have enough stored water to keep their crops healthy? Do local animals have enough water in their habitat for survival?

Although more than 80 percent of our clean water is used for agriculture, researchers say that it might not be enough to give plants the nutrition that they need.

Did you know that the average U.S. household uses approximately 400 gallons of water per day? The Earth might seem like it has abundant water, but less than 1 percent is accessible for human usage. The rest is either salt water in the oceans, fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps or unavailable for practical use.

Clean water should be accessible for everyone everywhere or else major health problems could develop. Having more water available could mean more bearable summers. Healthier grains, fruits and vegetables could mean better prices, more nutrition packaged inside foods and happier people. Our region has been in a drought for the last 15 years, but we could change that.

We could build reservoirs to store our water properly so that whenever it rains we would be able to collect the water for future usage. It will help keep our lawns and crops fresh and green, not yellow and scratchy. Not just our plants, but animals, too, such as the ornate box turtle, need lots of water.

EmaLee and Miriam Lawson (ages 12 and 10)

Las Cruces