Plot

In California's complex water system, a handful of corporate land owners took advantage of a state-engineered system and gained control of the state's most precious public resource, while drought left local homeowners with dry wells.

Water & Power: A California Heist uncovers the alarming exploits of California's most notorious water barons, who profit off of the state's resource while everyday citizens, unincorporated towns, and small farmers endure debilitating water crises. The film peels back the layers of a manipulative, backroom rewrite of California's water contracts in the 1990s, and investigates today's rise of luxury crops and illicit water transfers, all in the face of record drought. As the divide between water haves and have-nots grows, we face a humbling reality: water is the new oil, and as it becomes less accessible, it is rapidly growing more valuable.