California’s drought is prompting legislation to increase water pollution fines for illegal cultivation

Two bills were recently introduced to prevent illegal cannabis cultivation, which is using more water than ever after a historic drought in California.

“Illegal cannabis cultivation is ravaging the desert communities of San Bernardino County,” said Curt Hagman, chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, in a press release. “The county is committed to stopping this horrific environmental damage and protecting the lives and property of our residents from lawless criminals.”

The county is sponsoring Assembly Bill 2728, introduced by Rep. Thurston Smith, and Senate Bill 1426, introduced by Sen. Anna Caballero, to address these concerns.

AB-2728 would increase fines for illegal cultivation to $1,000 for each day of violation and $2,500 for each acre-foot of water diverted (and if that measurement is not reported, $500 per plant). These provisions would only take place in a “critically dry year immediately preceding two or more consecutive below normal, dry or critically dry years” if the California governor declared a state of emergency. “Our state is dealing with an unprecedented number of illegal cannabis plantations, particularly in the rural desert communities I represent in the Legislature. That’s why our laws must require compliance and ensure illegal activities are punished,” Smith said of the bill. Most recently, AB-2728 was referred to a committee on June 1st.

SB-1426 would penalize “unauthorized tapping into any water transportation or storage infrastructure, or digging or abstracting groundwater from an unauthorized well.” “Illegal cannabis cultivation kills wildlife and causes environmental damage across the state,” Caballero said in a San Bernardino news release in March. “This law will help stop the pollution of our groundwater supply and the theft of water, which are all the more important during a prolonged multi-year drought.” As of May 19, the bill is “in committee and under submission” for the time being.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of drought in California three times so far in April, May and July 2021 due to the effects of climate change. In July 2021, he urged California residents to reduce water use, with a goal of reducing water use by 15%. More recently, in March 2022, Newsom said that goal had not been met, and he called on local water authorities to “implement more aggressive water conservation measures.”

San Bernardino County is one of many regions in California that experience dry conditions. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva explained the data in terms of the amount of water required to grow cannabis. “The average marijuana plant requires at least 3 gallons of water per plant per day,” Villanueva said, according to NBC Miami. “The 2021 numbers alone add up to 150 million gallons of water being used to bring this crop to harvest. That’s just enormous.”

However, the amount of water a cannabis plant needs to thrive is highly dependent on its location, growing medium, and current growth stage. A 2019 survey titled “A Narrative Review of the Environmental Impact of Cannabis Cultivation” estimates that outdoor cannabis requires 5.5 gallons per day per plant in August and 5.1 gallons per day per plant in September, while indoor Plants in August and 5.1 2.5 gallons consumed in September. Ultimately, the study found that unlike other crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton or rice, cannabis plants require much more water and nutrients to thrive.

Another study released in October 2020, titled “Cannabis Water Storage and Irrigation Practices Drive Seasonal Patterns of Water Withdrawal and Use in Northern California,” found that legal cannabis growers use groundwater wells more often than other water sources, such as B. streams, rainwater, springs and municipal water systems are collected. “Our results show that water abstraction from farms with groundwater wells generally occurs during the summer dry season and underscores the need to assess its potential impact on associated surface water in streams,” the study authors wrote.

Assemblyman Tom Lackey, a longtime resident of California’s high desert, made a statement of his own regarding water use and pollution by illegal farmers. “To everyone involved in illegal cultivation, I want you to know that there is a collective effort and we’re after you,” Lackey said at a May 18 news conference. “They are after a very sacred cause: our community. You come after our desert and steal our water. You are poisoning our country and enough is enough.”