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After fires, Trump urges overhaul of California water policy – Jobsmaa.com

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During a visit to the Los Angeles burn areas on Friday, President Trump tried to convince California officials that the state's water management system needed a dramatic overhaul.

Trump announced that he was ready to approve an executive order to “open up the pumps and valves in the North.”

“We want to get as much of that water pouring down here as possible, let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow into Southern California, and that's going to be a huge benefit to you,” he told city, county and state officials at Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69 in Pacific Palisades.

“We have to have that water. You're talking about unlimited water,” Trump said. “You'll never run out, you'll never have a shortage, you'll never have things like that, and when you do, you'll have plenty of water to put it out there.”

Trump's statements attempt to connect fire response and local water supplies, experts said How water is managed Incorrect in Northern California. Southern California's cities are not currently running low on water, water managers and researchers say, and the region's reservoirs have Record high levels 2023 and 2024 will continue to deliver a large number of products.

Earlier this week, Trump issued an order To put “people above fish,” federal agencies were ordered to restart work to “direct more water” from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to other parts of the state “used by people who need a reliable water supply.”

Trump has also said he wants to tie federal aid to wildfire recovery to whether California accepts changes to water policy.

Governor Gavin Newsom, left, shakes hands with President Trump on a tarmac

Gov greets Gavin Newsom after President Trump arrived at LAX on Friday.

(Mark Schieffelbein/Associated Press)

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who briefly met with Trump at Los Angeles International Airport. said A change in water management in northern California may not have affected fire response. Governor's Office said on social media This week California is “now pumping more water under previous Trump-era policies” and that “Southern California has no water shortage.”

Even with plenty of supplies in reservoirs, local water systems were pushed to their limits as the fire spread rapidly, driven by strong winds.

While the LA County Water System lost pressure In some areas of Pacific Palisades, some fire hydrants Dry at higher elevationsDisrupt firefighting efforts. Newsom last week An inquiry was ordered Loss of water pressure to hydrants and lack of available water from a reservoir at Pacific Palisades Out of commission for repairs.

“Southern California had plenty of water available at the time these fires broke out,” said Bruce Resnick, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Los Angeles Waterkeeper. “The president's proposed solutions to improve water security in our region are impractical and based on a misunderstanding of the state's water system.”

During a visit to North Carolina earlier Friday, Trump said he wanted to find out “why they're not releasing the water.”

Trump similarly sought to change California water regulations and policies during his first term. But during his administration Adopted Water Rules This weakened environmental protections in the Delta, and state and conservation groups successfully challenged the changes in court.

That cleared the way for the Biden administration, working with Newsom's administration, to develop the current plan and supporting biological concepts that determine how much water can be pumped into the delta and how river flows are managed.

The rules govern the operation of dams, aqueducts and pumping plants in the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, two of the world's largest water systems, which supply millions of acres of farmland and about 30 million people.

Pumping to supply farms and cities has contributed to ecological degradation in the delta, where threatened or endangered fish species include steelhead trout, two species of chinook salmon, longfin smelt, delta smelt and green sturgeon.

Trump has hinted at seeking to weaken protections for delta smelt, a fingerling species that has suffered major declines and is considered Near destruction In the woods.

“They're talking about the Delta smelt,” Trump said. “It doesn't need to be protected. The people of California must be protected. “

U.S. Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) thanked Trump for his stance, saying that “ensuring reliable, sustainable water supplies is critical.”

Fong said Trump's executive order will have a “huge impact.”

Trump said the changes would benefit California agriculture, saying Central Valley farmlands “send water to the Pacific Ocean.”

Trump seeks to change California water policy at a time when Newsom is pursuing major water infrastructure projects, including a $20 billion project. Build a water tunnel Beneath the delta, and a plan Create a reservoir of sites In Northern California, the state's first new major reservoir in decades.

Trump did not discuss these plans during his visit.

Carla Nemeth, director of California's Department of Water Resources, said Trump's plans will end Harm water supplies to farms and communities as well as threatened fish populations.

Environmental advocates say Trump's orders could be disastrous for salmon and other fish species, as well as the Delta's deteriorating ecosystem.

Instead of taking the approach Trump is taking, Resnick said the federal government could help the L.A. region by providing more investments to improve the resilience of its local water systems.

“More money is being spent on wastewater recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater treatment and conservation, and preparing us for the future,” Resnick said. “The Central Valley is not sending too much water to agriculture.”

Resnick and other critics said the changes Trump is seeking would threaten endangered fish and the deteriorating ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where state and federally managed canals, dams and pumping stations provide water to farmland and about 30 million people.

Pumping more water from the Delta via the federally managed Central Valley Project would primarily benefit agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, where Trump draws his strongest support in the state.

“Every American needs to be clear about what the president is doing here,” Resnick said. “In a time of deep crisis and tragedy, he uses this urgency to line the pockets of his wealthy beneficiaries — in this case, industrial agricultural producers in the San Joaquin Valley — at the expense of the rest of us.”

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