Dive Brief:

• An accusation that actor Tom Selleck had been illegally diverting water from a public fire hydrant to use at his estate near Thousand Oaks, CA, turned out to be unfounded, but has led to new allegations that construction companies are tapping the hydrants and selling the water to wealthy residents.

• The former "Magnum P.I." star reportedly accepted more than a dozen deliveries from tanker trucks full of water from the hydrant at his 50-acre Hidden Valley, CA, ranch since September 2013. The public works director for the city of Thousand Oaks told media late last week that the hydrant was tapped by a construction company with a city-approved water meter. Contractors obtain those permits so they can control dust and mix concrete on large building sites.

• The contractor apparently is allowed to sell the water to third parties, according to The Los Angeles Times, which noted it is unclear if the company sold the water to Selleck or to someone else who later sold it to the actor. Selleck and the Calleguas Municipal Water District have reached a settlement, and the water meter has been removed, the newspaper reported.

Dive Insight:

Selleck’s use of the hydrant’s water might not have become an issue — in fact, he might not have had a need for it — if California weren’t suffering from a four-year drought.

Gov. Jerry Brown has imposed emergency water restrictions statewide, which many have said could threaten the state’s $39.6 billion homebuilding industry.