How do you feel about taxing one group of people to provide low cost water to a different group?
Do you know water right law in California? I don’t but here you buy long established water rights whether from a body of water or underground aquifer.
When you buy property you get domestic use right and the amount of water is strictly defined. As an example, if you buy an acre and build a house you have enough water right to provide your needs and a lawn and a couple of trees. If you buy 50 acres the water right doesn’t increase, you get just that domestic use.
On agricultural land the rights were already established by the early Spaniards who settled here or were acquired through the federal government by homesteading and are long-standing, they don’t make new ones. No one uses water without that water right, communities, industry or agriculture.
So anyway, you own the rights to a certain amount of water and you pay nothing for it except delivery costs. It is a property right and there aren’t that many in this arid state. Agriculture is not subsidized they actually own the water and pay for the means of delivery.