Last week President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order that laid out a plan for the federal government to intervene in California’s complex water management infrastructure.
It directs federal agencies to “immediately take action,” bypassing federal and state laws to divert more water from Northern California and the Central Valley to Southern California.
The order came after Trump visited Los Angeles to see firsthand the devastation caused by massive wildfires across broad swaths of the city. During the visit, the president made a series of remarks that exemplify a grave misunderstanding of California’s water supply.
“We have to have that water,” said Trump while visiting with local leaders in the Pacific Palisades. “You’re talking about unlimited water coming down from the Pacific Northwest, even coming up from parts of Canada, and it pours down naturally … you’ll never run out, you’ll never have shortages and you won’t have things like this, and when you do you’ll have a lot of water to put it out.”
LA already imports the majority of its water from the Colorado River and other areas of California. Additionally, there was no shortage of water in the county to combat the fires – the reservoirs were full.
Bruce Reznik, executive director of the nonprofit LA Waterkeeper, suggests that rather than importing more water, we should be focusing on building local water resilience.
“There was plenty of water available in Southern California at the time these fires broke out and the president’s proposed solutions for improving water security in our region are impractical and based on a faulty understanding of the state’s water system,” said Reznik in a statement.
“If President Trump were truly interested in improving water security in Los Angeles, the executive order would call for more investments to improve the region’s resilience. More money spent on wastewater recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation would prepare us for the future,” he continued.
Reznik further suggested that the president’s interest in California water may be for financial gains.
“In a time of extreme crisis and tragedy, he is using this emergency to line the pockets of his wealthy benefactors,” said Reznik. “Water is a big business in California, and it’s no surprise that this president is focused on further enriching the rich rather than meeting the needs of everyday Californians.”