According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, over half of Arizona is facing severe drought conditions or worse.

Those of us in town who are opposed to the building of an aquatic center are not being disrespectful, as suggested by a letter writer last week. Rather, we are acknowledging the severity of drought conditions here in the West. We are, indeed, listening -- we are listening to the experts who are cautioning us to make the right decisions today about how we plan to use water tomorrow, before it’s too late.

In response to the state of California’s epic drought conditions, officials in some cities are proposing a ban on filling new swimming pools and refilling or topping off existing home pools if they drop a foot of water. They estimate it takes anywhere from 18,000 to 20,000 gallons of water to reach the top of the average home swimming pool. (An Olympic-sized pool takes about 660,000 gallons of water.) The state right next door to us is studying drought conditions seriously. They’ve decided to plan ahead for efficient use of water, a most precious resource for all of us.

If Fountain Hills ever has to face the types of water restrictions they are considering in Southern California, let’s not let it be because we ignored what is going on around us and decided to build a huge aquatic center instead of making thoughtful and well-informed decisions to conserve water.