California Mojave Desert town of 1,700 people could be left dry in water war
Trona, a town in California’s Mojave Desert, is at risk of being left dry amid an ongoing water war that erupted after legislation was passed in 2016 to sustain groundwater sources. The town, which lacks its own clean source of water, has been getting its water from wells located 30 miles away in the Indian Wells Valley for decades, The Los Angeles Times reported. The water is delivered through two pipelines to Searles Valley Minerals, a mining company that uses the water to produce soda ash, boron, and salt.