When I heard the inspection team was coming today, I set out before dawn and was already at Chloe’s pear orchard. Two unfamiliar trucks were parked at the entrance to the orchard. Blue lettering stood out clearly on the sides.
NSJWCD – North San Joaquin Water Conservation District.
And I wasn’t the only one who had come out early in the morning.
“If the investigation results show there’s a problem, we’re not going to let it slide. You’d better know that.”
“We’re going to claim damages.”
The farm owners who had come before had shown up again and were making threats. But among them was someone I hadn’t seen before. He had black hair, stood over 190 centimeters tall, and had a long face.
With his arms crossed, he was looking back and forth between Chloe and the inspectors with sharp eyes, making him the one in that group who bothered me the most.
“Who is that?”
When I asked, Liam answered.
“That’s Jack O’Connell, the owner of a pistachio farm about five kilometers to the southeast. He runs a large farm of over four hundred acres.”
At the mention of a pistachio farm, I frowned. In terms of water usage, pistachios were even worse than pears. A single tree needed more than sixty to eighty liters a day in summer.
“Thank you for your cooperation. I’m Harold Curtis, an NSJWCD field inspector. We’re here to investigate the suspected drop in water levels due to the excessive operation of wells, which was reported.”
“Yes, please take good care of it.”
As Chloe shook his hand and spoke, the man in a dark navy shirt and sunglasses held a thick file in one hand and said,
“We simply follow procedure, as always. Then you consent to the complaint investigation?”
“Of course.”
The man who had protested most roughly before raised his voice while chewing gum.
“There’s definitely something wrong! You need to investigate properly!”
“Understood. Then, since consent has been given, we’ll begin the inspection.”
The inspectors immediately took out their equipment and moved toward the well. The thin line of the water level meter descended into the well, and after three beeping signals, a graph appeared on the screen.
Harold narrowed his eyes as he watched the blue line slowly drop and then sharply bend downward at a certain point.
“Do you see this? The drop in water level begins on this line before it does at the other farms. Topographically, the groundwater flow runs from north to south, so… this farm would be at the leading edge.”
I nodded and looked at the screen.
“That’s because of the terrain. The surface in this area is tilted by about three degrees, so…”
“That is the farm’s opinion. We judge by the data.”
His tone grew colder and colder. He continued explaining in a businesslike voice.
“Technically, this is also the most likely site. For now, we will designate your farm as the provisional cause.”
After saying that, he wrote a note.
‘Primary suspect site – Lodi Pear Orchard.’
Chloe cried out in surprise.
“Wait a minute! The investigation isn’t even finished, so why are you starting with us…!”
“With water levels dropping this much, it’s stranger that your pear trees are still alive. As a temporary administrative measure, stop operating the well for forty-eight hours.”
It was absurd, but for the time being, we had no choice but to follow the legal procedure.
“We’ll accept even an order without grounds for now. But I will be keeping a record.”
When I told him to write down the inspector’s name and the details of the administrative action, Harold showed no concern at all. Instead, he lifted one corner of his mouth and sneered.
“Suit yourself.”
As soon as the inspector left, the surrounding farm owners began shouting as if they had been waiting for it. For now, we had received an administrative disposition, and we stated that we would appeal it and demand a proper reinvestigation.
“Hmph! We’re not going to just sit still!”
“You’d better get ready for a class-action lawsuit!”
The farm owners lashed out like a storm for a long while before leaving. Their eyes looked as if they had seen a witch in the Middle Ages. Still, what was fortunate was that Chloe didn’t seem depressed.
“They really just found themselves an excuse, didn’t they? We’re not going to sit still, are we?”
Chloe was burning with fighting spirit.
“We’ll file a Reconsideration Request and a request to stay the effect of the administrative order at the same time before the end of the day.”
“Good!”
Chloe clenched her fist like that, then suddenly seemed worried and looked at me with calf-like eyes.
“It really isn’t our fault, right?”
“I checked earlier. We didn’t drill the well to the wrong depth. Then the problem must have come from somewhere else.”
“But why are they saying it’s our fault without even checking anything else?”
“That’s…”
I started to answer, then stopped. But Chloe understood what I meant. Her eyebrows shot up in an inverted V, and she shouted.
“These disgusting racists! You can’t educate people like that! We have to screw them over legally! That’s the only way they’ll never pull crap like this again. Can’t we do something with a lawsuit?”
“It’s hard to prove. We’ll just have to move on. You know that, right? That it isn’t easy.”
Chloe looked gloomy as she grabbed my arm.
“I’ll apologize on their behalf.”
“Hah, now is not the time for you to apologize to me. We’re about to get sued.”
“You’ll handle that on your own just fine.”
She smiled bashfully, and I found myself smiling along with her.
“Yeah. Let’s solve this first.”
At that moment, Liam, who had been watching, asked,
“Then are you planning to call a lawyer?”
“A lawyer would be too much. A paralegal should be enough. And I can’t do this alone, so I’ll need to call a hydrogeological consultant.”
Among farms in the United States, groundwater interference disputes between farms were quite serious. Because of that, hydrogeologists and water resource consultants were already active, and it was quite common for them to analyze well water levels, pressure, and pumping volume to create a Well Interference Report and submit it to administrative hearings or the court.
“Understood. Do you know any consultants?”
“I’ll have to ask around. For now, could you help me prepare the materials needed for the filing?”
“Of course.”
I immediately made a call. The person who could be the most reliable help in a situation like this was Pierce Morgan from the Agricultural Extension Office.
“Hello.”
“Oh, Brian! What’s the star of Napa Valley calling me for? Ah! Is it about organic certification? We’re not the ones who issue that, you know?”
“Haha, I know. The USDA issues it. That’s not why I called. I’m looking for a hydrogeological consultant.”
“Hm? Hydrogeology? Why? There’s no way Redwood would get into a water dispute with another place.”
Pierce Morgan certainly had considerable insight when it came to farming. Fundamentally, wine grapes were water-saving fruit crops that used the least amount of water. They had never used much in the past either, but drip irrigation and water stress management through SWP made them use even less. So there was little chance of a water dispute with other nearby farms.
Of course, that was only how it appeared on the surface. Beneath it, there were fierce disputes over the right to use water and access to it, but Redwood had drilled its wells long ago, so it did not worry about water shortages.
“It’s not our farm. My friend Chloe, who goes to UC Davis, grows pears in Lodi. A water dispute broke out there.”
“Ah! I see. Got it. I’ll find someone skilled and let you know. Can you wait?”
“Thank you.”
A short while later, he called back and gave me the number of someone named Dominic Smith. I gave Dominic the address of the farm in Lodi, requested a meeting, and then immediately headed to the Lodi County Administration Office with Chloe.
On the second floor of the Lodi County Administration Office, gray walls and old fluorescent lights flickered. Above the counter hung an old sign that read [WATER RESOURCES & AGRICULTURE UNIT].
The female employee behind the reception desk set down a file and spoke expressionlessly.
“This is regarding a complaint, correct?”
“Yes. I’d like to submit an appeal.”
When Brian answered, Chloe, standing beside him, held out a thick document envelope. Inside were things like pump operation records and well-depth diagrams.
The employee skimmed through the documents and said,
“Please consult with the person in charge. She just arrived at her desk.”
The door to a small office at the end of the corridor opened, and a middle-aged woman entered holding a file. She had neatly tied brown hair, a coarse gray knit sweater, and thick horn-rimmed glasses. She held out her hand.
“I’m Nancy Hamilton. I’m a paralegal with the Lodi Farm Bureau. If this is regarding an appeal, I can help you.”
After Chloe and I shook her hand and sat down, Nancy opened an old file and took out an outdated form.
“This is the Reconsideration Request form. If you believe an administrative order is unjust, you can submit this within ten days, and a hearing will be held.”
After saying that, she pointed to a specific section of the document and continued.
“You need to attach ‘new evidence or technical verification materials’ here. Without that, it can be accepted for filing, but there’s a high chance it will be dismissed.”
Brian nodded and asked,
“By evidence… you mean things like pump operating volume, flowmeter data, and water level records, right?”
“Rather than internal farm data, you’ll need a report with reliable figures verified by a hydrogeologist. Will that be possible?”
“Of course. We’ll have it prepared and submitted within ten days.”
She smiled.
“Good. The appeal will be filed today. Good luck, Mr. Choi.”
Two days after filing the appeal, someone visited the farm.
The man had disheveled, slightly curly hair and wore an earth-colored shirt. His face looked extremely tired and irritable, but his thin gold-rimmed glasses raised his impression of intelligence a little.
“We’ve been waiting. Mr. Dominic Smith?”
“That’s right. And the farm owner is…?”
“That would be me. And this is my… partner.”
At Chloe’s introduction, he shook hands with me and sat down. As soon as he was seated, he pushed up his glasses and spoke indifferently.
“The Lodi area has always had endless water disputes, so conflicts aren’t easily resolved without presenting proper figures. Do you know much about the underground conditions here?”
“Yes. There are two aquifers below. The shallow one is the Alluvial Layer, and the deep one is the Deltaic Gravel Layer. The problem is that these two layers aren’t perfectly separated.”
“……?”
He looked slightly surprised. I was young, and as an Asian, I must have looked like an immigrant or an international student, yet I knew the ground conditions of this region far too well.
“My assumption is this. If someone disturbs the deeper layer, it changes the pressure in the upper layer as well. If there’s another place using a deep well, not us, then that could be the cause. So I think finding that is important.”
“You’ve already more or less laid everything out yourself, haven’t you?”
“Well… the basics of farming are land and water.”
Originally, before reaching the doctoral level in agricultural science, one had to know the basics of how to use water. Naturally, one also had to know the characteristics of each region, and even if one forgot, information like this wasn’t difficult to find.
“Many people think that way, but not many actually know it. In any case, what you need isn’t my ability, but my authority, is that it?”
He saw through my intention at once. But that didn’t mean I could say so openly.
“No. We need your help, Mr. Dominic. And if my assumptions are wrong, please advise us at any time. As long as this matter can be resolved, I don’t mind what method we use.”
At my words, he smiled and nodded.
“So where do you suspect?”
I brought over a map of the surrounding area from the office, spread it out, and pointed to one place.
“The farms that use the most water around here are… this walnut farm and the pistachio farm here. Compared to us, who only planted our saplings a year ago, I think it’s much more likely that one of these farms is using excessive water.”
“So you want to look into that side?”
“That’s right. Would it be possible?”
Dominic crossed his arms and smiled meaningfully.
“Do you happen to like moving around at night?”
I understood his intention.
“Of course.”