California Drought May Wipe Whole Towns off the MapBy Joshua Krause In the modern world, however, many of our basic necessities are available no matter where we live, and its easy for us to take for granted the one resource that really matters. That resource is water, of course; and if you dont have it where you live, then all of the other advantages that might be found in your communitys location, are completely negated. The people living in Californias Central Valley are learning that lesson the hard way. The relentless drought that has stricken the region over the past few years, has gotten so bad that its threatening to turn some communities into ghost towns. In East Porterville, over a 1500 wells have dried up, and residents have to rely on water trucks that take water from the few who still have functioning wells. Water trucks fill up tanks in East Porterville front yards, but as the drought deepens, there are new reports of neighbors becoming hostile with the water haulers. They dont want their dwindling well water to be taken elsewhere. In one case, people reportedly parked their cars, trying to form a barricade to keep the truck from getting to that well. Another time it got so tense, the sheriffs department was called out. Conditions are so bad in the town, that residents are now leaving in droves. Drinking water and food lines are longer than ever at Iglesia Emmanuel. Its dire, its dire here, its dire straits, said Antonio Alvarez. Fear in the air is as thick as the humidity on a sweltering summer day. The Porterville church hands out fruits and vegetables. Each time, the supplies seem to run out faster. Were seeing a lot of new faces lately in the last few weeks, said Iglesia Emmanuel Church Pastor Roman Hernandez. Nobody knows the areas worsening struggles more than he does. He says families are packing up for Oregon, Illinois, and even Georgia to find farm work. One woman talked of going back to Mexico. She grew up in Mexico very poor: no running water, no shoes, no electricity, but she told me that she at least had plenty of water, he said. I havent seen her, so my suspicion is she went back to Mexico altogether. That last statement pretty much sums up the heart of the matter. You can go without just about anything for a period of time, but the buck stops with water. If the drought continues for long enough, people will just keep leaving these communities until they disappear altogether. But until then, you can expect most people to refuse to accept the reality of their situation, and dig in while they hope for a Hail Mary solution. There is hope of drilling a new well to solve East Portervilles water problems. Tulare County has a $1.6 million state grant and is asking the federal government for the remaining $400,000 balance to cover the cost of the new well. Time will tell if digging for more wells is really the solution needed for the rural communities of the Central Valley, or if that is really just a futile act of desperation. If California is entering one of its extended dry periods that sometimes last decades or centuries, then many of these communities are bound for extinction. Joshua Krause is a reporter, writer and researcher at The Daily Sheeple. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a freelance writer and author. You can follow Joshuas reports at Facebook or on his personal Twitter. Joshuas website is Strange Danger . One of the several motivations behind the deliberate drought is an instrument to get folks off rural / country land. odd how clouds seem to be coming from the south and headed toward the northeast. According to the United Nations, world population reached 7 Billion on October 31, 2011. Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason 1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature. Meaning: about 93% of the worlds population must be eliminated. 