go all over the world. you can say that it was that, that killed the river. >> reporter: every day people drive right over the san joaquin river. but what you can't see from the bridge is that there's no water here and there hasn't been for years. if you come down the encyclopedia and look this way this was once the mighty san joaquin river. at one time there was enough to carry steam boats all the way up river to fresno. now you'll find some sand, a couple of shells and some footprints. and the part of the river that have some water are so low the migration of salmon is nothing. >> he's not a very big guy. >> those living and working here worry about a future tide to the troubled san joaquin. >> my backyard is this river and i get to work and make a living off of it, it would be detrimental to me to see it