Here's How Thieves Are Stealing California Water

California's desert has recently become a hotbed of water thieves, reports CalMatters.

According to local investigators, illegal pot farms are often on the receiving end of the stolen water.

As the state continues to struggle through a devastating drought, water managers are having to double as detectives as water theft keeps occurring.

According to CalMatters, they hired security firms and deployed drones to follow the thieves and see where the water was going.

Eventually, local water czars realized the thieves are tapping into fire hydrants, rivers, filling stations, and wells to steal millions of gallons of water.

“It’s usually done in the dark of night,” a local water manager told CalMatters. “So, you’ll start to see footprints or you’ll see water or wet spots or they’ll leave the hydrant cap off the hydrant.”

The water managers who were interviewed asked to remain anonymous due to safety concerns. One local water leader even backed out of the interview with CalMatters.

By the end of June, there were 125 reports of water thefts in California, which is twice as many compared to a decade ago.