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(108,903 posts) Tue Sep 10, 2013, 06:18 AM Sep 2013

20,000 Gallons of Water Stolen From Elementary School in Drought-Plagued County

http://www.alternet.org/water/20000-gallons-water-stolen-elementary-school-drought-plagued-county

Bridgeville Elementary School
Photo Credit: California Energy Commission

Someone stole 20,000 gallons of water from an elementary school in Bridgeville, CA over Labor Day weekend — the second water theft in the rural area over the last several weeks. According to the Humboldt County sheriff’s office, the culprit used a school garden hose to drain the water tank and carried it off in a truck. The school had to close for a day as the tank was refilled.

Another water tank in the area was drained of 20,000 gallons in July, leaving 330 people briefly without water. That tank provides water to another elementary school, a fire station, the post office, and a state park campground.

Humboldt County, a remote northern California region dominated by cattle ranches and marijuana farms, has been hit especially hard by the drought afflicting California and other Western states. Because of virtually nonexistent snowpack over the winter, normally robust rivers are running extremely low, while rainfall has lagged 25 to 50 percent below normal since January. The unusually dry weather prompted the county to apply for federal aid in July for the first time since 2008. The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated Humboldt as a “primary natural disaster area” in August because of the severe drought damage. The federal crop insurance program, however, is already stretched thin by so many drought-stricken farms.

This critical water shortage has led to “water wars” in the area. Sheriffs arrested marijuana growers (who, of course, are not eligible for federal aid) last week for diverting streams to their operations. “We may see more of that if the weather stays like this,” Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Steve Knight warned.