‘Like a thiefdom’: How one California family controls who floods and who doesn’t

Published October 17, 2023 at 6:40 AM MDT

Floodwaters inundate farmland in the reemerging Tulare Lake, in California’s Central Valley, on April 26, 2023 in Corcoran, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

California has had one of its wettest years in recorded state history after enduring extreme drought. That’s good news for reservoirs that supply drinking water and water for farming. But a parade of strong storms also caused widespread flooding.

The Los Angeles Times has a new investigation looking into how one powerful family controlled where the floodwaters went in the agricultural lands of Tulare County — with little accountability.

Here & Now’s Deepa Fernandes speaks with Susanne Rust, an investigative reporter part of the team on this story for the LA Times.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.