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Its a Paso Robles water basin pirates dream

May 28, 2026

Greg Grewal

OPINION by GREG GREWAL

In the shadow of the oaks where the golden hills roll,
There’s a battle for the water
There’s a battle for control

The Paso Robles Basin, where appropriators’ dream, of reallocating your water
The water pirates dream

And now the water pirates are coming with a scam called Prop 26,
A lying funding plan

They’re looming in the backroom,
Plotting out the lines
Claiming evaporation will measure water on the vines

They call it regulation, yeah, they say it’s for the best
But it’s just to tax the people and put the money in the consultant chest

Yo, it’s the water pirates, sailing on the dust,

Turning every gallon into something we can’t trust
They want to tax the rainfall,
They want to steal the flow,
In the Paso Water Basin, tell them where to go

Keep your hands off my well,
Keep your eyes off the creek,

The Pirates want the power
But the water basin’s not theirs to reap!

From the Adelaida Hills to the Creston Plains,
They’re looking at the aquifer and counting up the gains.

Private equity sharks in a suit and tie

Want to pump the Paso Basin , leave the small farmer dry!

They talk about the “levels” and the overdraft blues while they’re drafting up a bill for
the water that you use

It’s a heist in the open, they’ve been pushing it for years,
How to steal your water, leaving you in tears

So hold the line, Paso Basin
Don’t let’em take the tap
Don’t let‘em map the future with a water pirates map
The water is the life blood, the water is the key,
Your land will be worth nothing if this warning you don’t heed!

 


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16 Comments

Locals, unite.


2

THANK YOU! LOVE IT?


3

Greg found ChatGPT! AI detector shows 76% fake and 24% original. Sounds about right…


-22

Wow. You did all that code searching investigation, just to prove he’s not wrong.


28

Richards are like that.


-1

Literally took 30 seconds Boomer.


0

Us boomers don’t need AI, to know Mr. Grewal was not only spot on in his assessment, but used humor in the form of poetry to make it memorable.


Oh, and you should use “virtually”. AI could have told you that….


0

If the pirates name is Resnick yes, he is a crook on so many levels and he wants to control Paso’s water.


56

Spot on. You know Resnick and his likes would love to dive into our aquafer. He has control in Bakersfield area. I would not be surprised if Gibson is personally investing into the plan for his own financial gain. They are alike, both rats!


29

The Resnicks are awful. That’s why we won’t buy anything from Justin, Fiji, or POM/Wonderful. What they did to the oaks in Paso is enough to run them out of the state.


15

Good, now we need music for your lyrics. I am hearing Splish Splash as the chorus.


17

Pretty funny Jorge. You’ve channeled Bobby Darin. You can’t be that old!


10

Great piece, Greg.


I observed a slide at the 2-29-16 Templeton CSD meeting that depicted 50% draws have been regularly occurring since 2013, a sudden departure from 30% steady draws for years prior.


No increase in agricultural production could result in such draws, and nobody will ever convince me that the Paso Basin is in some natural overdraft. This is man-made, and people are being told to conserve their water use due to “drought.”


Interestingly enough, these events are occurring nationwide by billionaire tycoons. Ours is Stewart Resnick, who owns the Figi Water Co. He and his wife are behind the “Wonderful” brand nuts and POM brand pomegranate beverages that we see bombarding local grocery stores.


72

While the Wonderful! brand is indeed held by a wealthy board, who certainly cheats on the paperwork for water allocation, there is nothing at all, what-so-ever, that compels you to purchase any of their products, nor any of the dozens of bottled water offerings (many of which, likely come from the same garden spigot).


Resnick is certainly a water pirate, as his history of clearing land for heavy water use crops proves.


32

Only difference between him and Santa Margarita Ranch owners is they are local. Check it out – cleared out rangeland and oaks for vineyards. Oh wait, they have their own State Water Turnout


0

He’s a poet, and I didn’t even know it! I salute you Greg for this and all the great work you do for us.


36