With each marijuana plant using 6 gallons of water per day and these farms illegally diverting water, local streams and rivers are running dry according to report published in Scientific American,

[A]n estimated 50,000 small pot farms. In the last decade, under the auspices of Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana for medical use, there has been a steady increase in the amount of cannabis cultivation in Shasta, Tehama and Humboldt counties, according to DeWayne Little, a lieutenant with CDFW’s Watershed Enforcement Team.

A study by CDFW and published in the journal PLOS ONE in March, found that in four watersheds that are home to both coho salmon and large numbers of marijuana farms—which use about 22 liters of water per day, per plant—the pot cultivation drained much of the river’s water (E&ENews PM, March 25)

Illegal water diversions, as well as increased sedimentation and pesticide use, are the main environmental impacts from marijuana grow operations, according to Little.

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