Tom Selleck reaches agreement with water district after 'stealing from hydrant water

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Actor and attorneys from Calleguas Municipal Water reached accord
Terms of the deal however remain confidential until its final signing
Magnum P.I. star and wife Jillie Mack 'ignored cease-and-desist notices'
Water district says it spent $22,000 on private investigator to catch them
Claims a white truck has made 12 trips from hydrant to their ranch
Selleck and Mack own a 60-acre ranch with avocado farm in Hidden Valley

Published: 22:46 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 18:19 EST, 10 July 2015

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Actor Tom Selleck has reached a tentative agreement with a water district after he allegedly tapped truckloads from a fire hydrant so he could use it on his 60-acre California ranch and avocado farm.

The Magnum P.I. star and his wife Jillie Mack were accused of dispatching a white truck to a neighboring valley at least 12 times since 2013 to retrieve gallons of precious water, which is in short supply during the historic drought.

Attorneys for Selleck and the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, reached an accord that must now go to the agency's board for approval at a meeting set for Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Drought shamed: Tom Selleck and his wife Jillie Mack have reached a tentative agreement with a water district after allegedly stealing thousands of gallons of water

Luscious: This is a 1995 photograph of the couple's 60-acre ranch, which includes an avocado farm

The district's resources manager, Eric Bergh, confirmed that the tentative settlement was arrived at on Thursday, but said terms of the deal were confidential until it was finalized.

'We're happy about it,' the Times quoted Bergh as saying. 'It's good news.'

Neither Selleck nor representatives for the performer were immediately available for comment.

To catch him, Calleguas Municipal Water District had spent $22,000 on a private investigator, the Sun Sentinel reported.

But even after they were issued with a cease-and-desist notice, the lawsuit claims, the Sellecks continued to swipe tankloads from Thousand Oaks to bring back to Hidden Valley in Westlake Village, where they have lived for 30 years.

According to Calleguas' lawsuit, a commercial water truck made seven trips to a hydrant by a construction site in Thousand Oaks between September 20 and October 3, 2013.

The truck, it claims, returned each time into 'the Hidden Valley area where the Selleck property is located.'

On November 26, 2013, the firm allegedly sent cease-and-desist notices to all of the Sellecks' homes, including one on Avenue Of The Stars.

However, three weeks later the same truck returned to the hydrant and delivered gallons of water to the Sellecks, the court papers claim.

This year, the same truck allegedly made trips between the hydrant and the Sellecks' ranch on March 23, 24, 25, and 26.

It comes as Californians are asked to cut their use of water by 25 per cent as the city grapples with an historic drought.

Tom Selleck accused of taking water for California ranch

A truck allegedly made at least 12 trips to a hydrant in Thousands Oak (stock image) and back to their ranch

Drought shamers do battle with water wasters in California

Celebrities have come under fire for their use of water after aerials shots captured luscious, watered ranches across water-deprived valleys.

Meanwhile, water departments across California are increasing rates and adding fees because they're losing money as their customers conserve. They say they still have to pay for fixed costs including repairing pipelines and customer service.

Agencies are expected to lose $1 billion in revenue under Gov. Jerry Brown's mandatory conservation order for communities to save water during the drought.

Dwindling water supplies also mean turning to more expensive sources of water. Santa Barbara increased water rates this month in order to reactivate a desalination plant and recover lost revenue.

Other agencies have cut expenses or tapped reserves instead of charging more for water.

California's best water savers can still end up with a lower overall water bill even with increased rates.