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Today, Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) issued the following response to the recent arrests of four suspected water thieves:
“The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s lenient attitude toward criminals has encouraged illegal marijuana grows to flourish in the Antelope Valley. These criminal enterprises steal water and pollute our environment for their own profit with little worry of prosecution from the D.A.,” said Wilk.
“My office has been working with law enforcement to ensure it has every tool in the shed to combat these criminal enterprises, despite the D.A’s pro-criminal policies. Hats off to the Sheriff’s Department, CHP and officers at the Department of Fish and Game for their good work in this instance. Getting these unlicensed drivers, who are behind the wheel of unsafe & non-compliant water-hauling vehicles off our streets, makes it safer for all of us. I too encourage all law-abiding residents to report any illegal and suspicious activity.”
The arrests of these individuals and confiscation of their equipment is welcome news for residents of east Los Angeles County, particularly the Antelope Valley, Acton, and Agua Dulce where there has been a surge of illegal grows in recent months. According to Los Angeles media outlets, CBS 2/KCAL 9, water thieves have siphoned massive volumes of water in the Lancaster region to irrigate illegal marijuana grows jeopardizing legal farming, firefighting efforts and our current drought.