Interesting article. They really highlight how blindsided some people are while still showing that the government seems to have made an effort over the last 6 years to alert farm owners of the updates, including hundreds of thousands of notices and flyers.

Droughts are a mess, and ensuring residential access remains consistent is definitely a higher priority than business use, which isn't just food farms but sod farms, car washes, and other non-vital water use cases.

A good idea for them to set up the ability to turn off water access for those business ahead of time, as I'm guessing these droughts won't go away any time soon