[attach id="439936" size="medium"]Tom Selleck as Thomas Sullivan Magnum[/attach]

A water district is suing Tom Selleck, claiming the actor stole truckloads of water from a public hydrant and took it to his ranch in drought-stricken California.

The Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County claims a tanker truck filled up at a hydrant more than a dozen times and hauled water to a 60-acre ranch owned by Selleck in Westlake Village.

Selleck, star of Magnum, PI and Blue Bloods, grows avocados at the ranch, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The district also says it spent nearly $22,000 to hire a private investigator to document the alleged thefts that date back two years.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department also investigated and was unable to establish that a crime occurred, Captain John Reilly said.

The lawsuit also names his wife, Jillie Selleck, and was submitted to Ventura County Superior Court on Tuesday.

California communities have been ordered to cut water use compared with 2013 levels due to the relentless, four-year drought. The area where Selleck has his land is under mandatory cutbacks as high as 36 per cent.

The district claims it sent Selleck cease-and-desist letters aimed at halting the unlawful water deliveries, but the truck was spotted as recently as March filling up at the hydrant on four days and delivering water to the ranch.

The suit does not specify how much water was taken.

In addition to legal fees and investigative costs, the water district is seeking an injunction barring Selleck and his contractors or employees from taking water from the district.