Central California Residents Rely on Bottled Water As Wells Run Dry

Central California Residents Rely On Bottled Water As Wells Run Dry

Extreme drought conditions have become so harsh for the Central Valley community of East Porterville, many of its residents dependent on their own wells have run out of water.

Roughly 300 homes have received a three-week supply of bottled water after Tulare County officials discovered their wells had gone dry.

In all, county officials distributed 15,552 1-gallon bottles of water, and have been filling a 2,500-gallon tank with nonpotable water so residents can flush toilets and bathe.

And the problem could be worse because many believe the number of people whose wells have gone dry is "grossly underreported," said Michael Lockman, manager of Tulare County's Office of Emergency Services.

If it wasn't for a local nonprofit group, county officials probably wouldn't have known that the residents were in dire need of water because they didn't ask for help, said Denise England, senior administrative analyst with the county's Water Resources Department.

"It was really surprising," she said.

County officials say East Porterville residents are typically very private, and for whatever reason, distrust the government.

Lockman said some residents fear their landlord will evict them because their well went dry or are afraid the county's Department of Child Support Services will take their children away because they no longer have water -- a rumor the county has been working to dispel, he added.

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A section of Lake Oroville is nearly dry on August 19, 2014 in Oroville, California.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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So it begins...The bottled water companies stealing this water in the first place must be LOVING THIS. Now look at all the extra plastic people can contribute to the oceans! All because they couldn't accept the truth of the situation before them and CONSERVE their water.

I am more concerned for our ecosystems and the animals that live in these locations now than the selfish consumptive humans who think that now that they have sucked it all out through wastefulness because they ignored the warnings they can rely on bottled water that was sucked out from someone else's aquifer. Again, how many Hollywood celebrities still have their huge Olympic sized pools filled with water? How much fracking continues to go on?

Mark my words, this will come to shots being fired somewhere along the way. People just do not seem to have what it takes to care about anything but themselves. This is a very sad situation that could have been avoided. People don't want to hear things like that though because they think you are just fear-mongering or over dramatizing. To them I would say - open your eyes!

The very events predicted years ago regarding the effects of climate destruction juxtaposing with waste and apathy are now happening. The Ogalalla aquifer is also running out fast. Within the next twenty years we will see a dire dire situation regarding water access in the US if we don't get our heads out of our __ and do something.

Fracking is killing us and yet politicians in both politcial parties continue to support it - and the kicker in all this is that those very people now using bottled water because their wells have run dry will actually still vote for these very politicians supporting the actions killing their water and climate. Absolute insanity.

Water police on patrol in drought-scarred Los Angeles



Car 54 where are you? Watch out for the Water Police now... unless of course you are a fracker working for an oil company that gives political donations to the Governor or a multi-national food company that steals it for profit...

Also see:

Drought Monitor- Sept 2, 2014

Severity Of California Drought In Disturbing Photos

Scientists: The American Southwest Faces A Mega-drought

Fracking Is Making California's Drought Worse