The Trump administration’s plan to pump more water into Central Valley farmland has faced fierce opposition from Democratic members of Congress representing the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the Bay Area.
A group of seven lawmakers led by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) said pumping more water would threaten the water supply for many Californians, undermine long-standing state-federal cooperation and put native fish in the Delta at risk.
Garamendi said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s plan “puts partisan politics ahead of California communities and farmers.”
“Pumping more water out of the delta is not just reckless in the face of increasing drought,” he said. “It threatens the livelihoods of people who live and work here, damages the region’s fragile ecosystems, and jeopardizes the long-term health of our state’s water infrastructure.”
Federal officials said the changes were adopted this month President Trump’s order Launched earlier this year, the project represents an effort to balance the needs of communities, farms and ecosystems.
Large agricultural water agencies like the Westland Water District are supporting the Trump administration’s plan. Some farmers in the valley who grow crops such as pistachios, almonds, grapes and tomatoes have long decried state environmental regulations as harmful and called for more water to be funneled in aqueducts.
The Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement Plan SummaryDubbed “Action 5,” the changes are “not expected to have any significant negative environmental impacts” and will allow California’s two main water systems – the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project – to move more water from the southern Delta to agricultural areas and cities.
But the Newsom administration criticize the planwarning it could threaten fish and reduce water availability to millions of people in other parts of the state.
“All Californians … deserve a water plan that prioritizes solutions over partisan gamesmanship,” Garamendi and six other Democratic lawmakers said in a statement. letter To Scott Cameron, Acting Director of the Bureau of Reclamation.
The group, whose members include Reps. Ami Bera, Mark DeSaulnier, Josh Harder, Jared Huffman, Doris Matsui and Mike Thompson, said they believe the changes will “jeopardize California’s water supply, disrupt coordinated operations between state and federal agencies, and weaken environmental protections.”
Lawmakers said that “the long-term sustainability of the Delta’s freshwater supplies and ecosystems depends on careful, science-based coordination between state and federal water systems” and that injecting more water into the Central Valley Project’s aqueducts could force state water projects to reduce water exports.
“Not only would this jeopardize the water supply for millions of Californians who rely on state water projects, it would also create uncertainty for farmers who rely on Delta water,” they said.
Environmental and fisheries groups also opposed the plan, saying the federal government was slashing protections for salmon and other fish that are already in trouble.
In recent years, water pumping has caused damage to the ecosystems of the Delta and San Francisco Bay. Populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, Delta smelt and other species have been declining.
Trump also sought to change California water regulations and policies during his first term. But when his government by water rules Weakening environmental protections in the Delta, California and conservation groups successfully challenged the changes in court.
