Nudist Camp Faces Water Theft Accusations
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
A nudist camp in drought-ridden California is facing accusations of water theft. As the San Jose Mercury News put it, "At least there's enough water left for skinny-dipping. Barely."
The encounter between law enforcement and camp residents was "civil but testy" and highlights the challenges the state faces in a time of prolonged drought, according to the newspaper. The resort is home to around 50 full-time residents who live in cabins and trailers on the wooded property.
"Rangers from an open space district in the wooded hills above Los Gatos descended [on the camp, accused its residents of stealing water and ripped out an upstream water line that has helped keep the resort open during California's drought," the Merc reported.
While no arrests were made at that time, rangers took apart a hose leading to a waterfall.
"The resort's owners say they are entitled to use the waterfall, which they need to keep their water tank full in case of a fire and to top off their pool for both skinny-dipping and as a backup water source for a fire," the Indy Star reported.
Lupin Lodge owners Glyn and Lori Kay Stout said they are "grandfathered" into their right to take supplies from the waterfall. The nudist camp also argued they are trying to conserve water. "The resort said it had already cut water use by 40 per cent and is using paper plates and limiting flushing of lavatories," The Telegraph reported.
The resort originally drew attention to its water challenges when it started trucking in water, the Merc reported in a previous piece.
Lupin Lodge "is perilously close to running out of water. So close that it's landed on California's official drought-watch list as one of five community water districts forced to haul in weekly truckloads of H2O," the report said.
State authorities are tracking communities who may run out of water.
"The State Water Resources Control Board decided this year, for the first time ever, to track areas on the brink of waterlessness," the Los Angeles Times reported. Since January, almost 30 communities have landed on the list as "critical water systems" that could run out of water in two months. Some have subsequently been removed from the list.
"If this drought keeps on going, some larger, more sophisticated communities are going to be in trouble next year," Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, said in the report.
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