Corporate growers’ carrots are soaking up water in this arid valley. Locals are fighting back

In the Cuyama Valley north of Santa Barbara, lush green fields stretch across the desert. Sprinklers spray thousands of acres to grow a single thirsty crop: carrots. Wells and pumps pull groundwater from as deep as 680 feet, and the aquifer’s levels are dropping. As the valley’s only water source shrinks, a bitter legal battle over water rights has arisen between carrot growers and the community. Residents are fighting back with a campaign urging everyone to stop buying carrots.

The local drinking water supplier in New Cuyama, the Cuyama Community Services District, is proposing to cover its legal costs by adding a $20-a-month surcharge to bills — a costly burden for many low-income residents. Bosma said it’s especially galling that the school district has had to spend $15,000 so far to defend its interests. “That's taking money out of what we could put into our kids,” Bosma said. “It's gouging our school. It's gouging our water district.

Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)

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