It's a great time to be a seller of water.
As California's drought enters its third summer, some Central Valley farmers and ranchers lucky enough to have groundwater to sell are raking in epic profits, according to KQED.
- Special Coverage: Bay Area Drought Watch
Some 60 billion gallons of groundwater could be sold via the practice that's called "groundwater mining," the news source reported.
Mining sees some farmers sell off their water to other, in-need farmers.
Water transferring is the only way some irrigation districts have been able to avoid tearing up valuable fruit and almond trees for lack of money, the radio station reported.
However, environmentalists as well as other farmers are worried: the water table is limited and already overtaxed, so selling what is in the ground during a drought period could see wells drop even further.
