California Water Alliance: Recent Claims About California Water Operations

Weekly Talking Points Memo from the California Water Alliance on Recent Claims About California Water Operations

The loss of life and property suffered by the residents of southern California because of the wildfires is tragic. CalWA is hopeful that the state will recover and rebuild stronger than ever before. We’re pleased to learn that President Trump will be visiting California today to address the residents of southern California and to offer assistance. One of those areas of assistance is related to future water supplies.

Governor Newsom’s recent proclamation and attempt to frame his administration as better for water operations than the Trump administration is an entertaining bit of political theater. The California Water Alliance welcomes the opportunity to jump on stage and take part in the play, but our role will be to focus on telling the truth and providing unvarnished facts:

• To be clear: under Governor Newsom’s leadership, water deliveries are down, critical infrastructure projects are blocked, and California’s water future is being sabotaged by his own policies. And we know this because for almost 30 years, and certainly during the duration of the Newsom Administration, as well as that of his predecessor, Jerry Brown, it has been the policy priority and the purpose of the law to curtail and dangerously limit the amount of water exported through the Delta for agriculture and human uses.

Water Deliveries Under Trump vs. Newsom:

• It wasn’t that long ago that the Newsom Administration and their allies made apocalyptic claims of species destruction and mass devastation that were sure to occur under the Trump BiOps (Biological Opinions) if implemented. So dire were the supposed consequences that they sued to block the implementation of the Trump BiOps.

• And now, the Newsom Administration is proudly claiming that the Biden/Newsom plan would export MORE water than the Trump plan. Make that make sense.

• To be truthful, based on the data, Newsom’s BiOp, combined with his Voluntary Agreements (VA), delivers less water than Trump’s did during his administration. The numbers don’t lie.

Opposition to Key Projects:

• Projects critical to addressing California’s water needs, such as the Shasta Dam expansion, have faced fierce opposition from the Governor’s administration, even after the people of California have repeatedly voted to tax themselves to pay for much needed water storage and infrastructure.

• While supporting projects in theory, his administration has failed to facilitate the completion of any meaningful initiatives.

Legislative Failures:

• The legislation necessary to address water infrastructure and delivery has been consistently opposed by the Governor and his allies.

• For decades, every meaningful reform effort proposed in the US Congress and the State Legislature has been opposed by the Governor.

• His appointees and support staff at the State Water Resources Control Board are considering unimpaired flow proposals that would devastate agriculture—which would be yet another devastating blow for the state’s farming industry.

Forecasted Shortfalls:

• By the Governor’s own admission, California is facing an annual water shortfall of nearly 10 million acre-feet. Instead of developing a comprehensive plan to address this, his administration has only proposed measures that reduce water deliveries.

Pumping Restrictions:

• Pumping restrictions and added regulations under the Biden and Newsom administration are driven by political concessions to extreme environmentalist groups rather than sound science. These restrictions have negligible effects on fish populations while severely impacting water availability for agriculture and communities.

Moving Forward:

With the new Trump Administration in place, and a President that is eager to engage, we urge the Governor to abandon obstructionist policies and collaborate on real solutions. CalWA is ready to provide input and suggestions to advance strategies that increase water deliveries and address

California’s growing water crisis. It’s time for decisive action—not empty rhetoric.

Media inquiries: William Bourdeau (559) 210-1471

www.californiawateralliance.org • (559) 281-9088