Trump Administration, Give Us a Call Next Time on Water Deliveries

It’s safe to say things have changed a good deal in the past few weeks. Things are always changing. The climate, world leaders, our position relative to the size of the universe as it expands – the only unchanging constant is God. Death and taxes are also mentioned in this context and there is the inevitable cry of disinformation becoming a certainty. I’m sharing what I understand about the situation following President Trump’s Executive Order concerning water in California.

Now, much of us have received much of what we wanted from the recent election given the choices available. Personally, there have been some positives in having a nontraditional politician like Donald Trump win especially considering his opponent. My outstanding accounts are starting to catch up and I’ve been to two large water events since the election and there is more optimism in the business side of the water world I’ve seen since before Covid.

One gentleman shared with me his observation that within his first month in office Trump cured global warming. After all, he pointed out, “Didn’t it snow at your home in Louisiana?”

Yes, literally the NWS declared a blizzard in St. Martin Parish. My wife said it dropped down to 8 degrees Fahrenheit and she had more than a foot of snow that lasted almost a week. All this less than 30 miles from the Gulf of ____ insert your choice – America or Mexico or? Also, literally and officially the State of Florida declared a falling iguana hazard due to low temperatures.

But not everything has been as smooth as could be. Most of us have seen the message sent over Truth Social attributed to Trump, “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!”

First response for me was, “Oh really?” I suspect many of you had a similar response – we’re water folks after all. It’s true there are many untrue environmental arguments and the Army Corps of Engineers does operate many dams in California. But ACE was already here, it didn’t have to enter the state. There is no valve or pump or any kind of conveyance linking our state to the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Maybe a tunnel in the future but not now.

Some other thoughts regarding this message, I knew it wasn’t true. I don’t go to fact checkers or Wikipedia for anything I’d consider accurate information. The “fact checkers” most often referenced by mainstream media have proven shills. Wikipedia? The freshest opinion isn’t a good substitute for truth or beauty.

But I did take a looks at Snopes, couldn’t resist. It didn’t change my opinion about the malleable accuracy of fact checkers. Snopes’ response was more convoluted than the original message. Snopes doesn’t have a clue how the state is plumbed.

I’ve heard and have begun to adhere to the advice of taking Trump seriously but not literally. Had Biden made an analogous claim it would have been met with mass derision. I’m sorry it was so over the top but I think Trump’s goal was sucking the political oxygen out of the room so Newsom couldn’t gain traction. On that count he succeeded.

Later that week I’m in Reno in the National Bowling Stadium as part of the festivities at the Mid Pacific Water Users Conference. On Thursday night a rumor started moving through the crowd. A better storyteller could weave the rumor into the bizarreness of the setting. We were in a building capped by, I’m guessing a 10-story tall geodesic dome representing a giant bowling ball. This place houses the bowling hall of fame, the world bowling museum and more than 100 lanes. A better storyteller would paint a word picture of the rumor spreading down the lanes in time with synchronized bowlers released their balls like a wave rolling down a beach ala The Big Lebowski.

In reality, I just happened to be bowling with some USBR managers (the only team kind enough to let me join in) and there were Kaweah River contractors at the next lane over. I’d heard earlier in the day about some mess with the Army Corps of Engineers but no one knew for sure what was going on.

During any administration turnover the chain of command is also changing and communication isn’t always in place. Doesn’t appear that was taken into account. Whoever came up with this idea and sold it to the President didn’t consult with anyone knowledgeable about the subject of water in California.

Someone, don’t know who, from the Trump team, obviously as ignorant about water in California as a newborn kitten, someone who in my opinion needs to be kept away from issuing orders, ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release water down the Kaweah and Tule Rivers and send it to Southern California. I was gob smacked. That’s the exact opposite of what should be done or even could be done to help anyone.

First, this is water being stored for the farmers to use in the summer and fall to irrigate crops. Second, the water behind the dams on the Kaweah and Tule Rivers unchecked – will flow into the old Tulare Lakebed and cause flooding. Some of the released water could be pumped into the Friant Kern Canal. In that case the released water could get as far south as just past Bakersfield. You can’t physically get water from these two rivers to Southern California without a series of transfers to the State Water Project to get it to the California Aqueduct to pump over the Tehachapi Range and into the Los Angeles Basin. That would take planning and coordination if for no other reason than there isn’t always room for extra capacity in the conveyance facilities. Can’t just utter, “Make it so Number One.”

Before any dams or canals were built the Kaweah and Tule Rivers naturally flowed into the Tulare Lakebed. During very wet years flood waters could make their way to the San Joaquin River, through the Delta and out to the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate. These days sending unexpected reservoir releases down the rivers, especially at the magnitude ordered without preparation could easily cause flooding. There is likely debris in the channels. There is ongoing maintenance to turnouts and downstream infrastructure. The unintended consequences of releasing flows without preparation are immense.

And on top of all of this, there are water rights connected to that stored water. We have enough problems keeping our water ours. There are those in Sacramento trying to redefine water rights as water privileges granted by the state government of California. We don’t want to give them any precedent. You can’t just up and invalidate someone’s rights to something.

As I type this on a Sunday morning, I don’t know how much water was released or where it ended up. I do know starting last Thursday any and everyone connected to the President was involved with trying to stop the releases. Congressmen, former Congressmen, the former Secretary of the Interior and a stretch limo full of lawyers all trying to get Trump to rescind that order to the Army Corps.

I’m disappointed this happened. While it does call attention to the extremely under reported hot steaming mess of state government water management in California, it wasn’t a truthful statement followed by an intelligent response.

My concern is: these unnecessary errors will weaken the case being made. Without a change in current law and policy the San Joaquin Valley will revert to a dusty low spot of poverty – a massive squandering of the most productive farmland on earth. This, done by politicians trying to appease a cadre of far left/Marxists using environmental worship and their amorphous version of justice as a pretext to tear down freedom. Unless water policy drastically changes there is a bleak future for much of this Valley and the nation’s food supply. I’m concerned with losing the momentum and bogging down in the mud of, “Trump made a dumb call therefore the Valley’s plight is illegitimate.”

Trump’s willingness to champion farmers in California is a long awaited relief. I deeply and sincerely want him to succeed. We absolutely need help in getting the majority of the decision makers in the state’s legislature and regulatory agencies to understand what they are doing to the water supplies.

At the last December Association of California Water Agencies conference in Palm Springs a speaker asked for a show of hands. He wanted everyone who had been contacted by the California State Water Resources Control Board asking for advice in writing regulatory opinions that would impact their area to please raise their hands. Instead of show of hands he was met with laughter.

I’m confident if the Trump administration calls the locals for advice on water in the San Joaquin Valley the only laughter they’ll hear will come from joy. I ask the Trump administration, give us a call next time before action is taken. We’ll work with you.