Drought-hit Californians struggle to live ‘normal life’ without water

Maria Jimenez demonstrating how the family pumps bottled water up to a storage tank on the roof of their rented house to wash in the drought-affected town.

A washing machine stands in the middle of Maria Jimenez’s California yard, like a redundant relic of modern life. Nearby are several rented mobile toilets, no longer in use.

For four months, she and her family have had no running water.