Gladys Colunga gathering water for her family in Tulare County, California. Credit KQED blog. All rights reserved.
Water—it’s a big topic for small town talk all around central California. Madera, some 30 miles west of the state’s geographic center, is a hot and arid farming community in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. At a run-down neighborhood convenience store situated at the corner of two dusty farm roads surrounded by modest homes and lush crops, after-work chit chat inevitably turns to water. Locals shake their heads while remarking that this area has always been known for its easily accessible groundwater.
