Water war in ‘carrot country’

Huckaby, president and CEO of Grimmway, walking on a carrot field owned by the company, in New Cuyama, California. In the Cuyama Valley northwest of Los Angeles.. — AP

IN the hills of a dry, remote patch of California farm country, Lee Harrington carefully monitors the drips moistening his pistachio trees to ensure they’re not wasting any of the groundwater at the heart of a vicious fight.

He is one of scores of farmers, ranchers and others living near the tiny town of New Cuyama who have been hauled into court by a lawsuit filed by two of the nation’s biggest carrot growers, Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms, over the right to pump groundwater.