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香蕉视频直播檙e 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香蕉视频直播檚 biggest carrot growers, Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms, over the right to pump groundwater.

The move has saddled residents in the community 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles with mounting legal bills and prompted them to post large signs along the roadway calling on others to boycott carrots and 香蕉视频直播淪tand with Cuyama.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 just literally mind-boggling where they香蕉视频直播檙e farming,香蕉视频直播� Harrington said, adding that his legal fees exceed $50,000. 香蕉视频直播淭hey want our water. They didn香蕉视频直播檛 want the state telling them how much water they can pump.香蕉视频直播�

The battle playing out in this stretch of rural California represents a new wave of legal challenges over water, long one of the most precious and in a state that grows much of the country香蕉视频直播檚 produce.

For years, California didn香蕉视频直播檛 regulate groundwater, allowing farmers and residents alike to and take what they needed. That changed in 2014 amid a historic drought, and as ever-deeper wells caused .

A new state law required communities to form local groundwater sustainability agencies tasked with developing plans, which must be approved by the state, on how to manage their basins into the future. The most critically overdrafted basins, including Cuyama香蕉视频直播檚, were among the first to do so with a goal of achieving sustainability by 2040. Other high and medium priority basins followed.

But disputes arose in Cuyama and elsewhere, prompting a series of lawsuits that have hauled entire communities into court so property owners can defend their right to the resource beneath their feet. In the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley basins, growers sued due to a lack of consensus over pumping allocations. In San Diego County, a water district filed a lawsuit that settled about a year later.

It香蕉视频直播檚 a preview of what could come as more regions begin setting stricter rules around groundwater.

The lawsuit in Cuyama, which relies on groundwater for water supplies, has touched every part of a community where cellphone service is spotty and people pride themselves on knowing their neighbors.

The school secretary doubles as a bus driver and a vegetable grower also offers horseshoeing services. There is a small market, hardware store, a Western-themed boutique hotel and miles of land sown with olives, pistachios, grapes and carrots.

From the start, Grimmway and Bolthouse participated in the formation of the local groundwater sustainability agency and plan.

Their farms sit on the most overdrafted part of the basin, and both companies said they follow assigned cutbacks. But they think other farmers are getting a pass and want the courts to create a fairer solution to reduce pumping throughout the basin, not just on their lots.

香蕉视频直播淚 don香蕉视频直播檛 want the aquifer to get dewatered because then all I have is a piece of gravel, no water, which means it香蕉视频直播檚 desert ground, which is of no value to anybody,香蕉视频直播� said Dan Clifford, vice president and general counsel of Bolthouse Land Co. 香蕉视频直播淲hat we香蕉视频直播檙e trying to get is the basin sustainability, with the understanding that you香蕉视频直播檙e going to have a judge calling balls and strikes.香蕉视频直播�

Grimmway, which has grown carrots in Cuyama for more than three decades, currently farms less than a third of its 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) there and has installed more efficient sprinklers to save water. Seeing groundwater levels decline and pumping costs rise, the company began growing carrots in other states, but doesn香蕉视频直播檛 plan to uproot from Cuyama, said Jeff Huckaby, the company香蕉视频直播檚 president and chief executive.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 one of the best carrot-growing regions that we香蕉视频直播檝e come across,香蕉视频直播� Huckaby said, adding that arid regions are best so carrot roots extend below ground for moisture, growing longer. 香蕉视频直播淭he soil up here is ideal, temperatures are ideal, the climate is ideal.香蕉视频直播�

California has been a 香蕉视频直播淲ild West香蕉视频直播� for water but that香蕉视频直播檚 changing. The company has cut back its water use in Cuyama and hopes to remain there for decades, he said.

Until the lawsuit, 42-year-old cattle rancher Jake Furstenfeld said he thought the companies were working with people in town, but not anymore.

Furstenfeld, who sits on an advisory committee to the groundwater agency, doesn香蕉视频直播檛 own land and doesn香蕉视频直播檛 have an attorney. But he香蕉视频直播檚 helping organize the boycott and has passed out yard signs.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 been called David versus Goliath,香蕉视频直播� he said.

Many residents are worried about the water they need to brush their teeth, wash clothes and grow a garden. The water district serving homes in town said rates are rising to cover legal fees. The school district, which is trying to stay afloat so its 185 students can attend school locally, is burdened with unexpected legal bills.

香蕉视频直播淲ithout water, we have no school,香蕉视频直播� said Alfonso Gamino, the superintendent and principal. 香蕉视频直播淚f the water basin goes dry, I can kind of see Bolthouse and Grimmway going somewhere else, but what about the rest of us?香蕉视频直播�

Before the state香蕉视频直播檚 groundwater law, most groundwater lawsuits were filed in Southern California, where development put added pressure on water resources. Legal experts now expect more cases in areas where farmers are being pushed to slash pumping.

香蕉视频直播淔or an average person or a small user it is disruptive because must people haven香蕉视频直播檛 been involved in lawsuits,香蕉视频直播� said Eric Garner, a water rights attorney who worked on California香蕉视频直播檚 law. 香蕉视频直播淔or large pumpers, lawyers are an inexpensive option compared with having to replace their water supply.香蕉视频直播�

Most of the country香蕉视频直播檚 carrots are grown in California, with consumers demanding a year-round supply of popular baby carrots. The state香蕉视频直播檚 climate is a prime place for growing and carrots are one of California香蕉视频直播檚 top 10 agricultural commodities, valued at $1.1 billion last year, state statistics show.

Along the highway, Grimmway香蕉视频直播檚 fields are doused with sprinklers for eight hours and left to dry for two weeks so carrot roots stretch in search of moisture. Critics question the companies香蕉视频直播� use of daytime sprinklers, but Huckaby said Grimmway uses far less water than the alfalfa grower who farmed there before.

The suit in Cuyama, filed two years ago, has an initial hearing in January. In a recent twist, Bolthouse Farms has asked to withdraw as a plaintiff, saying the company has no water rights as a tenant grower and plans to slash its water use 65% by 2040. The company that owns the land, Bolthouse Land Co., is still litigating.

Jean Gaillard, another Cuyama advisory committee member, sells produce from his garden to locals. He tries to conserve water by alternating rows of squash between corn stalks and capturing rainwater on the roof of an old barn.

Paying a lawyer to represent him rather than re-investing in his produce business is problematic, he said. Meanwhile, his well water has dropped 30 feet (9 meters) in the past two decades.

香蕉视频直播淲e feel we are being totally overrun by those people,香蕉视频直播� Gaillard said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey are taking all the water.香蕉视频直播�