Sights: MWD Dirt Lot – Victoria Grove

This dirt lot in the middle of the Victoria Grove community in Riverside belongs to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD):

Just a few weeks ago, this lot was bordered by beautiful orange trees:

What happened to the trees?

As explained in the following post on a member agency’s Facebook page, MWD removed the trees as “part of their long-term maintenance”:

So, according to the Metropolitan Water District, “long-term maintenance” includes destroying mature, healthy and well-maintained orange trees that were located directly across from an elementary school in the middle of a community named after orange groves. Got it.