Though located in the same state, the city of Nashville, which boasts a population of about 545,000, and the tiny town of Orme, population 145, have little in common. But that does not mean those of us residing here cannot learn from Orme's misfortunes.

As a result of the drought currently plaguing the southeastern United States, Orme's water supply has completely dried up. In order to provide Orme with water, fire trucks must make multiple runs hauling water retrieved from an Alabama fire hydrant, and even then, water can only be made available for a brief, strictly regulated three hours a day from 6 to 9 p.m. Tony Reames, mayor of Orme, told the Associated Press this crisis should serve as a warning to other communities to conserve water before it's too late.

Officials in Atlanta, Ga., announced about a month ago that, without intervention, the city was likely to run out of water in three months. If no solution is found, over 4 million people in the metropolitan area could find themselves without water. Already, a ban on outdoor water use has been put into effect in the area. The situation stands to become much worse.

Luckily, Nashville, which has also been suffering from dry conditions, has had some recent rains that have, at least temporarily, minimized the drought. However, it remains vital that Vanderbilt students, as members of the Nashville community, recognize the value of the water they use on a daily basis and do their part to conserve this resource. Easy ways to conserve water include not letting water run while washing dishes by hand, only using washing machines when really necessary, taking shorter showers and making sure that none of the plumbing in your living quarters leaks.