Southern California water board member admits to stealing $30K in water
An elected member of a Ventura County water board has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of stealing water for his Oxnard farm. Daniel Naumann, 66, admitted to one count of grand theft of water, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a Friday news release. As part of his plea agreement, five other felony charges will be dropped, the Ventura County Star reports. Naumann, a Camarillo resident who is owner and operator of Naumann Family Farms, was an elected board member of the United Water Conservation District and an alternate board member of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency. … Despite those roles, Naumann took nearly $30,000 in water between 2019 and 2021 using “diversion bypasses [that] were installed on two commercial water pumps that irrigated Naumann’s crops,” the release stated.