Meet the couple who use more of California's water than all L.A. households combined

[Hemlock140]

Regardless of who is eating the almonds, or other crops, it's a far better use of water than acres of lawn that sit unused, home swimming pools, fountains, and other wasteful uses.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Don't think anyone accused them of "stealing water".

California is a huge agriculture state. Yes. Very important to both the state's residents and to the nation. But 80% of the almonds the Resnick's grow aren't consumed in California - or the nation. They are shipped overseas to markets elsewhere.

That could be said about a lot of things. I know a guy in Nor Cal who grows Timothy hay And wild rice and sells only in Japan. Because they are paying the best price.

The money those almonds earn for the state economy? Mmm. Well, something yes. But ALL California agriculture combined - big and important industry as it is - is only 3% of the state's economy. What portion of that 3% do you think those almonds going to China are? Yeah. Not much.

The sale is still income to the business based in California. There is obviously a demand for almonds.

So, that ridiculous share of the state's water goes to enrich this one couple and a handful of other almond farmers at the expense of the general population's water security. Collapsing aquifers means nothing to the Resnicks.

You're probably right. It's a mega corproration/conglomerate

Do they have legal rights to do this? Probably. Almost certainly. Are California's and America's old water rights laws and agreements equitable for today's society? Heh.

Like a lot of archaic laws I'm sure that there are plenty of purchased rights to water or land that while they made sense 70-200 years ago they are considered "wrong" or "abusive " these days. I not sure if anything can be actually done. Since its a legal agreement/document, unless it has a maturity of renewal date the state may be able to decline to renew it. Since they are that rich I'm pretty sure the people in question can most likely get their way. People with millions of dollars at their disposal usually have the means to get the right people to see things their way. Is it the world we live in? Yes. Unfair? Yeah sure. Can you or I do anything about it? Probably not. You can always boycott any products their companies produce


And no one has suggested shutting down California's agriculture industry. But some of us are damn sure questioning the equitability of a few barons gaining extraordinary wealth at the expense of the state's natural resources that are critical for all. Regulate a few mega-thirsty crops through allocating resources and protect critical natural assets.

Ok. So what's the answer? For the most part I'm willing to bet that nothing can be done. They can simply keep doing it and selling their products overseas.

Bold


There are lots of ways to reuse recycle and save water.

I am a huge proponent of recycling gray water in residences. You can build a house where gray water from showers and sinks gets transferred to a recovery tank. Filter the water to a limited level then reroute it to use as water to flush toilets or lawn use. This can be mandated on a remodel or new construction. Give people tax breaks for changing landscaping to water friendly landscaping. Have a higher tax rate if someone has or wants to build a pool. It's a extravagance/luxury. Like a boat or RV.
Have a tiered water use system. The more you use the more you pay.

[neutrino78x]

We also need to build solar water distillation plants. These are not conventional plants that are solar powered. They use the heat of the Sun directly to evaporate the salt water, then condense the steam back into fresh water.

Like what this company is doing:

Home - WaterFX

These should be built near farming communities. But we should also build distillation plants in each major city that are conventional distillation plants hooked up to the grid. The grid, of course, should be green: solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear.