"During his first stint as president, Trump was heavily influenced by the Westlands Water District, a huge agricultural water agency in the San Joaquin Valley that sought more irrigation water for itself and other farm interests. That relationship led to an extremely controversial contract that guaranteed Westlands as much as 1 million acre-feet of water each year from the federal Central Valley Project, solidifying the district's supply situation."
"Lacking water rights, Westlands had historically depended on temporary contracts to meet members' demands. The new contract angered environmental groups because it threatened to reduce flows through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for wildlife habitat. The groups sued and won rulings against the contract in trial and appellate courts. After Trump moved back into the White House in January, he immediately picked up where he left off, issuing an order to federal water officials to maximize deliveries in California."
Donald Trump has prioritized managing California water and intervened in long-running allocation conflicts. During his first presidency he allied with the Westlands Water District, a large San Joaquin Valley agricultural agency seeking greater irrigation supplies. That alliance produced a controversial contract guaranteeing Westlands up to 1 million acre-feet annually from the federal Central Valley Project, stabilizing the district's supply after reliance on temporary contracts. Environmental groups sued, winning trial and appellate rulings against the contract because of reduced Sacramento-San-Joaquin Delta flows for wildlife. After returning to the White House, he ordered federal officials to maximize California deliveries and linked water deliveries to wildfire spread.
#california-water-policy #westlands-water-district #central-valley-project #environmental-litigation
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