During a visit to the Los Angeles Burn areas on Friday, President Trump tried to persuade California officials that the state’s water management system needed a dramatic restoration.
Trump announced that he was “ready to approve an executive order to open pumps and valves in the north.”
“We want to flow this water here as soon as possible, let hundreds of millions of gallons of water flow into southern California, and this will be a great benefit to you,” he told a gathering of the city, the county and a gathering. State official in the Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69 in the Pacific.
“We have to have that water. You’re talking about infinite water, “Trump said.” You will never run away, you will never have a shortage, and you will never have such things, and when you do so You will get a lot of water to get it out. “
Experts say Trump’s statements are trying to connect firefighting response and local water supply How is the water management Was wrong in northern California. Water managers and researchers have said that the cities of southern California are currently no less than water, and are present in the region’s reserves. Record the high level After a huge supply of supply in 2023 and 2024.
Earlier this week, Trump Issued an order “More than fish”, ordering federal agencies to resume work for “more water” from the Sanjukin River Delta to other parts of the state.
Trump has also said that he wants to link federal assistance to the forest fire recovery whether California accepts changes in water policy.
President Trump saluted Government Gwen Newsom after arriving at LAX on Friday.
(Mark Schiflubin / Associated Press)
Government GwenNewsom, who briefly met Trump at Los Angeles International Airport, Have said The change in water management in northern California does not affect the fire response. Governor’s office Said on social media This week, when California “now pumps as much water as it can be under Trump’s previous policies,” and that “there is no water shortage in southern California.”
Even despite enough equipment in the water reservoirs, the local water system was pushed into their limits as the fire spread rapidly, operates with strong winds.
When LA County Water System The lost pressure In some parts of the Pacific, some fire hydrants Dried in high altitude areasHandling Firefighting Efforts. Last Week Ordered the investigation Hydrants deprivation of water pressure and deposits in the Pacific Paulacedes. Out of commission for repair.
“It was a plethora of water available in southern California at the time of the fire,” said Bruce Rzink, executive director of the Environmental Advocate Group. “The president’s proposed solutions to improving water safety in our region are non -practical and are based on poor understanding of the state’s water system.”
During a visit to North Carolina early Friday, Trump said he intends “why they are not leaving water.”
Trump likewise tried to change California’s water rules and policies during his first term. But when its administration Adopted the rules of water It weakened environmental protection in the Delta, with state and security groups successfully challenging the changes in the court.
For the Biden administration, it cleared the way to work with the newsroom administration, prepare current projects and auxiliary biological feedback, which shows how much water can be pumped and the river flow to the Delta. How is it organized
These rules rule the operation of dams, water and pumping plants in the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, which are the world’s two largest water systems, providing goods to millions of acres of fields and 30 million people. Do
Pumping for the supply of fields and cities has played an important role in the Delta environmental breakthrough, where fish species that are listed as a danger or danger include steel head trout, two types of chink salmon, Long Fan Summit, Delta Smilet and Green Sturgeon.
Trump indicated that he intends to undermine the protection of the Delta smelly, which is a species of finger length, which has faced a huge shortage and is thought to be considered. Close to the infinite In the wild
Trump said, “They talk about Delta odor.” There is no need to protect it. California people have to protect.
US Representative Wins Foong (R. Bakersfield) thanked him for Trump’s positions, saying that “a reliable, stable water supply must be ensured.”
“Trump’s executive order” will have a huge impact, “Foong said.
Trump said these changes would benefit California’s agriculture, saying that “they send water to the Central Valley fields.”
Trump is trying to change the California water policy at a time when newsrooms are pursuing major water infrastructure projects, including a $ 20 billion project. Make a water tunnel Below the delta, and a plan Building Sites Reserves In northern California, the state’s first new reservoir in decades.
Trump did not discuss these plans during his visit.
California Department of Water Resources, Carla Nimth, has said that Trump’s plans may end Damage the water supply for fields and communities Also, the fish population is in danger.
Environmental supporters say that Trump’s orders can be devastating for salmon and other fish species, as well as the Delta’s deteriorating ecosystem.
Instead of Trump’s point of view, the federal government can help the LA region by providing more investment to improve the flexibility of its local water system, Rizck said.
“We will be prepared for the future by spending more money on waste water recycling, stormy water arrest, groundwater cleaning and protection,” said Razink. “It would not be like sending more water to the Central Valley of Agriculture.”
Rizck and other critics said that Trump’s search changes would endanger the dangerous fish and Sacramento San Jokinan River Delta’s deteriorating ecosystem.
Pumping more water than the Delta through the Federal Administration Central Valley Project will primarily benefit agriculture in the San Jokin Valley, where Trump has some strong support in the state.
“Every American should make it clear what the president is doing here.” “In the extreme crisis and tragedy, he is using this emergency to write the pockets of his wealthy beneficiaries – in this case, industrial agricultural producers in the San Jokin Valley – at the expense of the rest of us. “
