Not just Gavin shuffling it into the Ocean, there is a black market for H2O!
“As an extreme drought grips California, making water increasingly scarce, thieves are making off with billions of gallons of the precious resource, tapping into fire hydrants, rivers, and even small family homes and farms.
“Water stealing has never been more severe,” said John Nores, former head of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Marijuana Enforcement Team. The agency has been fighting the thefts for years, usually in rural areas of the parched state, that have been “devastating” communities, he said.
More than 12 billion gallons of water are estimated to have been stolen across the state since 2013, impacting legitimate farming operations, drinking water sources, Native American tribes and small communities, Nores said.
How thieves are getting their hands on water
Officials say the thieves are getting their hands on water by breaking into secure water stations, drilling into water lines, tapping into fire hydrants and using violence and threats against farmers, making off with truckloads of water for their crops under cover of darkness.
The issue has become so severe that some communities have been forced to place locks on fire hydrants or remove them altogether.”
h/t pud2.0