CLIMATEWIRE | As historic fires rip through the Los Angeles area, President-elect Donald Trump is demanding Gov. Gavin Newsom “open up the water main” and allow “beautiful, clean, freshwater to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!”
At first glance, it seems to make sense. Why wouldn’t the leader of a state whose northern regions are currently enjoying above-average winter precipitation redirect water south to quench the burning metropolis as its fire hydrants run dry?
To start, there isn’t some central spigot nestled in the Sierra foothills that Newsom can just use a giant wrench to turn on. Then there’s the fact that firefighters were more hamstrung by the raging Santa Ana winds than empty hydrants due to a lack of water from Northern California.
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Read on for a detailed explanation from our resident California water expert of the state’s complex water system and a brief history of Trump’s fixation with the issue.
What’s up with the ‘water restoration declaration?’
On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”
Newsom’s communications director shot back: “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration — that is pure fiction.”
Is it? Not quite. Trump was referring to a real document, even if he used an unknown name for it that left even the most astute California water officials scratching their heads. Karoline Leavitt, the president-elect’s press secretary, explained the reference by pointing to a five-year-old legal showdown between Newsom and Trump over how to manage the state and federal systems of pumps, reservoirs and canals that move water around California.
In short, the two disagree about how much water should be pumped out of the state’s main rivers, which combine in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, to the much drier farms of the Central Valley and cities of Southern California and how much water should be kept in the ecosystem to keep declining fish populations alive, including the Delta smelt, a frequent Trump target. Their separate plans for the pumps make only marginal differences in actual water deliveries but have taken on a political life of their own.
The conflict peaked in 2020, when Trump unveiled the “record of decision” cementing his version of the rules at a rally in the Central Valley — only to be sued by Newsom, citing harm to the environment
“That was the last significant water policy decision made during his first term in which both President Trump and Gov. Newsom took a personal interest,” said Tom Birmingham, the former general manager of Westlands Water District, the largest agricultural irrigation district in the country that sided with Trump in that battle.
Is there a water main in Northern California?
No. Newsom would be hard-pressed, as Trump suggested on Truth Social on Thursday, to “immediately go to Northern California and open up the water main, and let the water flow into his dry, starving burning State, instead of having it go out into the Pacific Ocean.”
However, Southern California’s cities do depend on snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada mountains, home to the world-famous Yosemite National Park, and the Delta pumps for about 30 percent of their water supplies. Another 20 percent comes from the Colorado River, and 50 percent originates from local supplies, like groundwater and recycling.
A lot of water in California does flow into the Pacific — much of it is reserved for environmental uses, which keeps rivers flowing so they’re fresh enough to provide tap water to cities and keep endangered fish populations alive. Overall, water use in California breaks down roughly to 10 percent for communities, 40 percent for agriculture and 50 percent for the environment, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California’s analysis of state data.
What’s the origin story of Trump’s obsession with California water?
This isn’t the first time Trump has used H2O as a cudgel against Newsom. He’s also threatened to withhold disaster aid unless Newsom goes his way on water, saying at a Southern California campaign stop last year that if the governor “doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires.” (“Those papers” presumably refer to the aforementioned water restoration declaration).
The president-elect’s interest in the Golden State’s water dilemma likely dates back to a 2016 tour of the agriculturally rich Central Valley with former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, who was one of Trump’s earliest supporters.
Trump’s frequent references to the fight show “the California water issue has a very special place in his heart, in his head,” said Johnny Amaral, the chief operating officer for the Friant Water Authority, which serves Central Valley farmers, and Nunes’ former chief of staff.
“He talks frequently about the visit he made to the Central Valley in 2016 before the election where Devin was taking him around and showing him farmland,” Amaral added. “It warms our heart a little bit that he still talks about a 30-minute or hour drive around the east side.”
Nunes was trying to impress upon Trump that farmers in the Central Valley, a region that trends conservative, need more water from the state and federal water pumps in the north. He was clearly persuasive.
It’s not. Much of Southern California is in a drought right now, according to federal statistics, because of a dry start to California’s typically wet winter. But it’s not hugely lacking in imported water from Northern California, which, in contrast, has had relatively average precipitation so far. Levels at reservoirs across the state, including Southern California’s largest reservoir, Diamond Valley Lake, are currently at or above historic levels.
LA’s fire hydrants ran dry Tuesday night because there was “tremendous demand,” Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said Wednesday. Water pressure fell as a result: Supplies at the city’s three million-gallon water tanks that feed Pacific Palisades tapped out by 3 a.m. after firefighters started battling the blaze Tuesday, and backup water had to be trucked into the area.
How are Democratic leaders responding?
At a White House briefing Thursday, President Joe Biden offered an explanation for dry hydrants. He said power was cut to local water pumps to avoid utility lines causing more conflagrations. Fire officials are now bringing in generators for the pumps, Biden said.
On CNN on Wednesday night, Newsom accused Trump of playing politics and trying to divide the country over the tragic fires. Also on Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the water shortages on the unprecedented scope of the disaster, which is slated to be the costliest in U.S. history.
Debra Kahn and Julia Marsh contributed to this report.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.