This morning the Sacramento Bee is reporting that farm irrigation agency in San Joaquin Valley is accused of stealing water.
Federal investigators say between 2009 and 2015, the Panoche Water District illegally took more than 17 million gallons of water, enough water for 106,000 households for a year. “For the past several years, we have been committed to working cooperatively with the United States to develop a fair and equitable resolution to this matter,” said the district’s general manager Ara Azhderian in an email. “We are deeply appreciative of the attention and effort our partners at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority dedicated to develop the respective agreements that allow all of us to move forward.”
The district has been ordered to pay the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation $7.5 million in compensation.