San Joaquin Valley residents, growers vying for water in fourth year of drought
Noemi Barrera has spent four months without running water for herself and her four children, and is among many people in California living without it as wells across the state run dry. … Tooleville sits on a well that is now nearly unusable due to contamination from groundwater overdrilling. The state stepped in last year after the neighboring town Exeter refused to connect municipal water to the community’s residents. … Barrera grew up in the citrus-covered community but never faced this lack of running water until she brought Ruby home from the hospital and could not take a shower. And she is aware that many communities across the state’s vital Central Valley are staring down the same daily life, as their basins are depleted by unprecedented drought and ongoing groundwater pumping.
Related article:
- KBAK – Bakersfield: Farmers navigate Kern County drought