Many crops that are water intensive are exported. Almonds, for example. There’s no need to import food due to water shortages, only to prevent farmers from exporting our water by way of these (very profitable) water intensive exports.

To your point, municipalities are most definitely going to need to buy out farmers to prevent water resource depletion. They should do so whenever market conditions value these rights at a discount (“buy low”).

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/07/22/425392169/epis...