I think it depends whether they would realistically run out of their stock of water if they don't raise the price. And then, second order things like whether th

I think it depends whether they would realistically run out of their stock of water if they don't raise the price. And then, second order things like whether they could be reasonably expected to have adjusted their inventory in response to the weather forecast. Without coordination though gouging would not be a good business strategy, and such coordination is already illegal. Though the anti-coordination laws do need to be enforced, and whether that is done consistently is unclear to me.