California
Trump admin making good on promise to send more water to California farms
The Trump administration is making good on a promise to send more water to California farmers in the state’s crop-rich Central Valley.
The US Bureau of Reclamation on Thursday announced a new plan for operating the Central Valley Project, a vast system of pumps, dams and canals that direct water southward from the state’s wetter north.
It follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January calling for more water to flow to farmers, arguing the state was wasting the precious resource in the name of protecting endangered fish species.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the plan will help the federal government “strengthen California’s water resilience.”
It takes effect Friday.
But California officials and environmental groups blasted the move, saying sending significantly more water to farmlands could threaten water delivery to the rest of the state and would harm salmon and other fish.
Most of the state’s water is in the north, but most of its people are in the south.
The federally-managed Central Valley Project works in tandem with the state-managed State Water Project, which sends water to cities that supply 27 million Californians.
The systems transport water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an estuary that provides critical habitat to fish and wildlife including salmon and the delta smelt.
It is important for the two systems to work together, Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, said in a statement.
She warned the Trump administration’s plan could limit the state’s ability to send water to cities and farmers.
That is because the state could be required to devote more water to species protection if the federal project sends more to farms.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director at Restore the Delta, said pumping more water out would result in more Delta smelt and juvenile salmon dying from getting stuck in the pumping system, and once the temperature warms, harmful algae blooms will develop that are dangerous to fish, wildlife, pets and people.
That could have economic impacts, she said.
“When you destroy water quality and divorce it from land, you are also destroying property values,” she said. “Nobody wants to live near a fetid, polluted backwater swamp.”
The Bureau of Reclamation denied the changes would harm the environment or endangered species.
The Central Valley Project primarily sends water to farms, with a much smaller amount going to cities and industrial use. Water from the Central Valley Project irrigates roughly one-third of all California agriculture, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
The Westlands Water District, one of the largest uses of Central Valley Project water, cheered the decision.
It “will help ensure that our growers have the water they need to support local communities and the nation’s food supply, while also protecting California’s wildlife,” Allison Febbo, general manager, said in a statement.
During Trump’s first term, he allowed more water to be directed to the Central Valley, a move Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom fought in court, saying it would push endangered delta smelt, chinook salmon and steelhead trout populations to extinction.
The Biden administration changed course, adopting its own water plan in 2024 that environmental groups said was a modest improvement. Newsom didn’t immediately comment Thursday on the new decision.
The Republican president renewed his criticism of the state’s water policies after the Los Angeles-area fires broke out in January and some fire hydrants ran dry.
The Central Valley Project does not supply water to Los Angeles.
Trump dubbed his January executive order “Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California.”
Just days after Northern California saw a stretch of record high temperatures, the high Sierra Nevada is once again getting snow.
Chain controls went up on Interstate 80 in the Sierra early Wednesday morning.
As of 7 a.m., controls are in effect westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to Rainbow. On the eastbound side, chain controls are in effect from Kingvale to Truckee.
Highway 50 is not seeing any restrictions at this time.
Other major Sierra roads seeing chain controls Wednesday include Highways 4, 49 and 88.
Wednesday also marks the day California’s Department of Water Resources will conduct its fourth snow survey of the season. As of Monday, the statewide snowpack is at about 18% of average.
FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Preparations are underway for a major bipartisan gubernatorial candidate forum set for Wednesday at Fresno State, where several high-profile candidates for California governor will make their case to voters.
The event is expected to spotlight issues impacting not only the Central Valley but also communities across the state, with a strong focus on affordability, agriculture, and water policy.
Confirmed candidates scheduled to appear include:
- Xavier Becerra, attorney and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Chad Bianco, Riverside County sheriff
- Steve Hilton, author and Fox News contributor
- Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor
- Katie Porter, former U.S. representative
- Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor
The forum will be moderated by Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes and former State Assemblymember Kristin Olsen, who say their goal is to ensure Central Valley concerns remain front and center.
“There are so many issues related to affordability right now, energy costs, housing costs, regulatory costs, even food prices,” Olsen said. “These are real challenges affecting families, farmers, and farm workers in the Central Valley. We want to make sure candidates clearly explain how they’ll address them if elected.”
Moderators say they are prepared to press candidates for direct answers.
“That will be our challenge,” Olsen said. “We’ll clearly lay out expectations for candid responses, and if someone doesn’t answer the question, we’ll follow up.”
Mendes emphasized the importance of water policy, a critical issue for the region’s agricultural economy, noting that many statewide candidates may lack a full understanding of how California’s water systems operate.
“A lot of candidates don’t fully understand water movement in this state, how storage works, or the difference between surface water and groundwater,” Mendes said.
He added that keeping candidates focused may be one of the biggest challenges during the forum.
“We might have to stop them and remind them to answer the question instead of running out the clock,” Mendes said.
Mendes, who is a registered republican, and Olsen, who has since switched from republican to no party preference, have both moderated in the past, though this marks their first time moderating a gubernatorial forum.
They stressed that their approach will be firm but nonpartisan.
“This isn’t about being partisan, it’s about answering the questions,” Mendes said.
Organizers say hosting the forum in Fresno is intentional, aiming to elevate issues specific to the San Joaquin Valley — a region they say is often overlooked in statewide political discussions.
The forum is scheduled to run from noon to 1:30 p.m. and is sponsored by 30 agricultural associations statewide. It will be streamed live on the FOX26 YouTube page.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The average price for a gallon of gas has surpassed the $6 mark in Los Angeles County, and diesel prices also set a new record for California.
On Tuesday, the average price for diesel reached $7.45 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s an all-time high for the state.
The statewide average price for regular gas stands at $5.88, but drivers in L.A. County are paying an average of $6. Of course, prices could be even higher than that at specific gas stations.
GasBuddy, a website that helps drivers find the cheapest gas prices, says the rise in the price for gas is making history. Experts say the spike in gas prices is the largest monthly increase on record.
Here are the average prices for regular gas in other Southern California counties:
Orange County: $5.93
Riverside County: $5.84
San Bernardino County: $5.86
Ventura County: $5.95
Meanwhile, the national average for regular gas has crossed the $4 mark.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, President Trump is willing to end military action in the Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of the world’s oil supply, remains closed.
GasBuddy predicts that would guarantee higher energy prices.
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