Mountjoy on CNBC on California's hot new commodity of stormwater
On a drought-parched piece of land in California's Central Valley, farmer Don Cameron has persuaded other growers to do something counterintuitive.
Flood their farms.
"I think you could put millions of acre feet back into the ground," said Cameron, who grows everything from almonds and grapes to carrots and tomatoes.
Cameron has a novel idea: Flood fields with storm runoff from El Nino this winter when you don't need the water. Then let the water seep into the massive aquifer underground, raising the water table, so that it won't cost as much to pump in the summer when the water is needed.
You might even get other people to pay you to do it.
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"We're looking to do 10 demonstration projects, not just almonds, but on other tree fruits and grapes as well," said Daniel Mountjoy, director of resource stewardship at Sustainable Conservation. "Some growers say they want to do it on 5 acres, some say they'll do it on 20, some say they'll do it on 150, 160 acres."