SACRAMENTO — Despite recent misinformation, California is delivering more water to farmers and Southern regions of the state than under the Trump Administration. Thanks to strategic negotiations with the Biden administration, California has worked with the federal government to manage water delivery and increase the amount of water flowing to farmers and southern regions – even when federal and state law require pumps to be slowed down. Regardless, these water flows have zero impact on the ability of first responders to address the fires in Southern California.
Under the Trump administration’s 2019 biological opinions, which help safeguard and protect species such as the Delta smelt, the state was required to hold back on pumping in even larger quantities as compared to the current policies under the Biden administration. This is because the Trump administration’s biological opinions used outdated methods, blocking the transport of water in greater quantities and for longer periods of time, rather than allowing local water managers to temporarily slow water transport based on current water conditions.
Since the new policies went into effect on December 19, the State Water Project — source of about 30% of Southern California’s water supply — has gained 12,500 acre-feet of additional water supply beyond what would have been possible under the 2019 Trump policy and a previous state endangered species permit. The additional supply is approximately enough water to meet the needs of 37,500 households for a year.
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