Photos: Parched in Parkwood, Calif.

A young man shoots a basketball over dead grass in a park in the parched Madera County community of Parkwood. The State Water Resources Control Board decided this year, for the first time ever, to track areas on the brink of waterlessness.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

John Eddy unloads a lawn mower from his truck on Tuesday in the Madera County community of Parkwood. Business has been slow since Parkwood’s last well dried up in July. Residents are prohibited from using water on their trees, shrubs or lawns.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A Parkwood, Calif., home has a brown lawn, left, while its neighbor has a mostly green lawn. Parkwood is one of 28 small communities that have since January cycled onto and off of a list of “critical water systems” that state officials say could run dry within 60 days.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The lawn on the right in Parkwood, Calif., is dry after going unwatered while a neighbor’s is green despite restrictions on water use in the Madera County community.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A parched lawn in Parkwood, Calif, shows one of the effects of the drought.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A mailbox with a water pump for a decorative stand can be seen outside a home in Parkwood, Calif. The community’s last well dried up in July, forcing it to make a deal with the city of Madera for a temporary water supply.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)