Oil wells guzzle precious California water. Next door, residents can’t use the tap

A town in the oil industry's shadow grapples with health fears as the state fails to limit companies' use of fresh water

Towering refineries and rusty pumpjacks greet visitors driving along the highways of Kern county, California. Oil wells sit in the middle of fields of grapevines and almond trees. The air is heavy with dust and the scent of petroleum.

The energy fields here are some of the most productive in the US, generating billions of barrels of oil annually and more than two-thirds of the state's natural gas. And in a drought-stricken state, they're also some of the thirstiest, consuming vast quantities of fresh water to extract stubborn oil.