Amid Drought, Billionaires Control A Critical California Water Bank

Amid Drought, Billionaires Control A Critical California Water Bank

Share to Linkedin Water prices are soaring in California's Central Valley, where a quarter of the nation's food is grown. As the West Coast's megadrought worsens, one farming company has long been scrutinized for its outsized role in the arid region's water supply. Wonderful, the closely held company owned by billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, can buy up huge amounts of water whenever it needs more. Most of the Resnicks' water comes from long-term contracts and other water from land rights they have from the farms they own. Around 9% of the total water used by Wonderful is bought out on the open water market. While that's not a huge amount of the water it uses, the company can outspend pretty much every other farmer in the region, and can influence water prices. "Like all farmers, we occasionally need to purchase water for our crops," a spokesperson for the Wonderful Company said. "However, we prioritize water rights when purchasing farmland, thus most of our supply is not purchased on the water market. Based on this, we do not believe we have enough purchasing power to impact water prices." The Resnicks' own more than 30, 000 acres of almond orchards and