The California Drought Isn’t Over, It Just Went Underground

Homeowner Leonicio Ramirez and daughter Tania Ramirez are the first residents to receive water through a water distribution system in East Porterville, California, on Aug. 19, 2016. Engineers at the California Department of Water Resources designed a system to deliver water from the city of Porterville to 1,800 homes in its neighboring community to the east. —Florence Low/California Department of Water Resources

Drought conditions continue for thousands of rural residents in the San Joaquin Valley who rely on groundwater. And the race to dig deeper wells is a losing game for small communities and those on private wells.

MADERA, California – Evelyn Rios wept in 2014 when the well went dry at her home of 46 years — the home where she and husband Joe raised five children on farm-worker wages. They cannot afford another well, so they do without. Her angst only grew as California’s five-year drought dragged on. Finally, after one of the wettest winters on record, Gov. Jerry Brown announced in April that the drought had ended. But situation remains grim, says Rios, 80, who lives in rural Madera County in California’s San Joaquin Valley. She thought she was being hooked up to the city of […]

Full article: The California Drought Isn’t Over, It Just Went Underground

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