Almost everyone, at least in America, has heard the motto “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

It’s an inspirational phrase attributed to American football as a coaching mantra to motivate the players. That phrase has been traced back to the 1950s and although it supposedly began on a football field in Texas, it has been adopted by other team sports as well as other sectors of society, including business settings.

Certainly 2020 started out as a challenging year and nothing has eased in 2021.

Since initial reports surfaced in early 2020, alerting the public about the hazards of COVID-19, practically everyone’s world has been turned upside down on a global scale.

Yet, administrators, staff and Directors at AVEK managed to keep operations going for the past 18 months, armed with the knowledge that water is a basic necessity for humans, animals and plants.

A community without water becomes a ghost town.

Households cannot function without the natural resource. Farms cannot survive because most crops would wither and farm animals would perish. All businesses, from manufacturing to medical offices and clinics to brick-and-mortar stores would be forced to close their doors..

It’s been a difficult time for everyone, beginning with the pandemic, and now coping with an historic drought – one so severe that the last instance occurred more than a century ago.

The drought situation is so grim that the U.S. Congress has been conducting meetings and hearings dedicated to finding solutions while assessing the most vulnerable communities in the nation, with a watchful eye on the western states, and specifically California.

Not only does drought threaten water supplies needed for everyday use, but it also endangers parched lands with dried vegetation, making areas like the Antelope Valley susceptible to wildfires and this Valley has definitely seen its share of scorched trees and blazing mountainsides.

Everyone at AVEK has gone above and beyond their duty to ensure Agency operations run smoothly under the harshest of circumstances.

Because you know the value of water and what it would mean if shortages disrupted the local quality of life, you can set an example as conscientious stewards of the land by adhering to useful water conservation practices. Your friends, family and neighbors can observe the methods you implement, and they just might copy what they see.

Yes, times are tough. But remember, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And that means you.