It’s always a great idea to reflect on the things in life that we are thankful and grateful for.   This week be thankful for something that I  will bet you don’t think about.

Be thankful for Fresh running water.

There are people in our very own country that do not have running water.

Water poverty is especially rampant on Native reservations. More than 13% of Natives don’t have reliable access to water. Compare that number to just .04% of non-Native Americans.

We often think of water as a matter of “haves” and “have-nots” – most families have reliable water access, some do not. But there’s another way to consider this situation: most American families take water completely for granted. It’s important to understand that water scarcity affects everyone, even here in the United States.

Water scarcity within the U.S. is not just an environmental problem. Our current daily demand for water also affects its future availability. Wasteful flush toilets, non-insulated pipes and generous showerheads are all culprits to the water crisis. The Southwestern United States is already this emerging reality. A crisis may soon spread into other areas of the U.S. when local waterways can no longer replenish their resources to meet our growing demand. Many may “thirst” for more.

So today be thankful of you have running water.