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The nut industry around Sacramento is a true tragedy of the commons.

Billions of wallstreet speculative dollars to pump water out of the ground as fast as possible.

No one wins, but a percentage gain on a balance sheet.

Interesting perspective. I always viewed the Sacramento Valley rice and nut crops to be some of the less objectionable activities, seeing as how that valley is knee-deep in water much of the year, and the depth to ground water in many places is less than a meter. But I'm sure every form of industrialized agriculture falls apart under enough scrutiny.

FWIW, there's an infamous photo showing how the Central Valley has literally sunk over the years from over-use of the aquifer.

https://ca.water.usgs.gov/projects/central-valley/images/sub...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Valley_land_subsidence

Just note, for those not familiar with the territory, that the San Joaquin valley and the Sacramento Valley, although often combined as "Central Valley", are two very different hydrological systems.

Several cities consider every drop in California and several surrounding states to be rightfully theirs.

Can't taxes from those gains just be used to buy water from elsewhere though? If water from elsewhere is cheap why not use local water to make money instead?

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