Trump gloats about California dam water release, critics call it wasteful and reckless
SAN JOSE, Calif. - President Trump on Monday again claimed that he is making California safer by ordering unscheduled water releases from two dams in the Central Valley. But experts on the California water supply system say the water being released does not connect with Southern California and could not have helped with wildfire suppression.
There are two distinct systems in play to move water around the state – one state system, and one federal system. "All we are doing is giving Los Angeles and the entire state of California virtually unlimited water," President Trump said Monday. "We opened it and we did it regardless of the state and now the state seems to be very happy," Trump said from the Oval Office.
The backstory:
The president has authority over the federal system – called the "Central Valley Project." The two dams involved in the unscheduled water released are on Lake Kaweah and Lake Success both of which are east of Visalia. "I would say it is hard to see what benefit people or the state or the environment is getting out of this release of water," said Letitia Grenier, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California.
Grenier said the president’s claims about the use of the water are difficult to understand. "So the federal project, the Central Valley Project, is physically not connected to southern California," Grenier said.
What they're saying:
Water managers in the Central Valley told local publications they were given very little notice of the unscheduled water releases and reservoirs on the federal system are mostly used to keep agricultural farmland supplied during harvest season. "So that water would normally come out in the summer or later in the fall when we are growing a lot of crops and it is very hot and dry in that area but it has great soil -- so the farmers need the water at that time to grow crops," Grenier said.
President Trump posted a photo of the water release on social media saying "everybody should be happy about this long-fought victory." Monday at the White House he said "I think they are all happy. They have a lot of water in California too bad we did not have it two months ago, right?" Trump said.
In a statement, Senator Alex Padilla said: "Unscheduled water releases require close coordination with local officials and safety personnel, as well as downstream agricultural water users, in order to reduce flood risks to communities and farms. Based on the urgent concerns I have heard from my constituents...it appears that gravely insufficient notification was given, recklessly endangering residents downstream," Padilla said.
Padilla has sent a list of his questions and concerns about the unscheduled water release to administration officials.
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