By  Matthew, Hector, Julian, and Andy

Have you ever really thought about how bad this horrid drought affects us? California’s four year drought has many  affects on us, and I’m here to tell you what they are. To start it off, it’s affect on people is huge. When it comes to trying to share water, it’s pretty hard. When it comes to farms, it’s even harder. Farms, of course, need water. Farms need water to feed animals and grow crops such as almonds, corn, broccoli, lettuce, etc. Also, due to this drought, there’s less snowpack, which means that there will be less melting snow that seeps into our reservoirs and lakes. So, less water in our reservoirs means we have less water for agricultural use, resulting in a higher cost in food. California produces more than ⅔  of America’s fruit and nuts and more than ⅓ of America’s vegetables. The extreme drought is affecting our farmlands and food supply.

The California drought not only affects agriculture and people, it is also drastically affecting our forests, animals and wildlife. Around 12 million trees have died in the forest habitat, which has also damaged living conditions for small animals that live in the woody areas. A lot of animals have picked up and moved to other areas in order to find food and water. Lack of water is also causing animals such as Black Bears, coyotes and mountain lions to look for food and water in suburban neighborhoods. The drought is also increasing the number of devastating wildfires, which also contributes to the loss of animal habitats.

In conclusion, the drought issue is complex and there is no simple solution. From people and plants, to forests and animals, we are all connected. Everyone needs to work together and do their part to conserve as much as possible. We have to protect our land, or crops and our animals.

Tips to Conserve Water:

• Take shorter showers

• Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth

• Turn off the sink when washing dishes

• Fix leaky faucets and pipes

• Choose water-saving faucets, shower heads, dishwashers and washing machines

• If you have to wash your car, take it to a carwash that recycles water.

Dear Oxnard Residents,

Have you ever realized how much water you use per day? Throughout this paper we will be explaining how much water people use per day and what you can do to conserve water.

In our opinion we think that even though it has rained in the beginning of the year, we are not close to ending our four year drought. Since in Oxnard there are about 200,000 people, and every person uses about  fifty-seven  gallons per day, we use about 11,400,000  gallons per day in Oxnard!  Because of the severe drought in our state, Governor Jerry Brown has asked all California residents to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 20%. If we reduce 20% like we were asked we would be reducing 912,000 gallons per day in Oxnard.

Now that you know how much water you use, we thought you would want to know about our local reservoirs. We will be talking about Lake Casitas since it’s our  nearest reservoir. Did you know that in 2012 it was 80% full? It was the fullest since 2010. Most reservoirs near our area never get full. For instance, Lake Casitas first reached a full capacity and spilled in 1978. Because of the drought, in 2015 it was only 52% full. This was the lowest level between 2010 and 2015 .  This is another reason why we should still conserve water.

It is very important to conserve water so we decided to explain some ways on how to conserve water. One easy and big way to save water is to try and take a ten minute shower, but  you don’t necessarily need to reduce the time the most important thing is to turn off the water.  Another easy way to save water is to water your yard and plants early or late in the day to reduce evaporation. You could also conserve water by sweeping your driveway instead of using your water hose. If you ever want to wash your car, you can drive your car on your lawn so it falls into your grass instead of the street or your driveway. Have you ever dropped an ice cube on the floor? If so, you should throw the ice cube in a plant.

We hope we made you understand that even though it has rained, we are still in a  drought. That is why even if we get more rain we should still conserve water. We need to work together to lessen the effects of California’s drought.

Sincerely,

Desirae, Jessica, and  Mariah

Your Fellow 5th grade Rio Lindo students

From Mr. Connelly’s class