It takes about 2000 gallons of water to grow a pound of almonds. During the drought in California, much more water was pumped out of the ground in the central valley to irrigate crops. This reduces the water table, so the remaining water has to be pumped farther. In a year with little rain, the water table can drop by many feet, and in some places the water level is hundreds of feet below where it used to be. Many of the water pumps use gasoline motors. If you are an almond farmer, calculate how much gasoline per pound of almonds you will need to use to provide the energy required to pump water up the 100 feet the water table could drop in a bad drought.