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Senator Padilla Demands Answers After Army Corps Orders Central Valley Dams Open to Flood Levels [1]

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Date: 2025-02-02

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The recklessness of the Trump Administration was demonstrated once again when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers directed unscheduled water releases from Lake Kaweah and Success Lake in Tulare County, raising concerns about flooding on the same farms that Trump said he is trying to “help.”

This was done “purportedly to assist in fighting Los Angeles County fires that are already almost fully contained,” according to a press release from Senator Alex Padilla’s Office. On Jan. 31, Padilla questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the order was issued.

“Local officials warned the Corps that releasing water at the levels the Corps planned to would have flooded both the Kaweah and Tule rivers, posing a flood risk to communities and farms down river and wasting water that could have been used for irrigation over the summer,” according to Padilla.

The decision followed President Trump’s Jan. 24th Executive Order directing federal agencies to maximize water deliveries in the state, falsely claiming that statewide water policy was to blame for the devastating Los Angeles County fires.

The orders are entitled, “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.”

“Consistent with the direction in the Executive Order on Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing water from Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and Schafer Dam at Success Lake to ensure California has water available to respond to the wildfires,” wrote Gene Pawlik, a supervising public affairs specialist in the Army Corps’ Washington, D.C. office.

Padilla responded to the Corps’ announcement, accusing the agency with “recklessly endangering” downstream residents.

“Unscheduled water releases require close coordination with local officials and safety personnel, as well as downstream agricultural water users, in order to reduce flood risks to communities and farms,” wrote Senator Padilla. “Based on the urgent concerns I have heard from my constituents, as well as recent reporting, it appears that gravely insufficient notification was given, recklessly endangering residents downstream.”

Padilla asked Secretary Hegseth the following four clarifying questions in response to Trump’s post:

1. Who directed that these releases be made?

2. If the purpose of these releases is to help fight wildfires in Los Angeles County (which are already almost fully contained), what is the plan to transport this water to Los Angeles rather than let the water simply be discharged into Tulare Lake where it will evaporate?

3. What type of notification, and how much advanced notice, was given to irrigation districts and public safety personnel to prepare for these increased flows?

4. What impact will these releases have on Tulare Lake communities, including private landowners?

San Joaquin Valley water managers told SJV Water, a website that covers Central California water issues, that physical and legal barriers make it virtually impossible to use Tulare County river water for southern California wildfire abatement.

“Every drop belongs to someone,” Kaweah River Watermaster Victor Hernandez told SJV Water. “The reservoir may belong to the federal government, but the water is ours. If someone’s playing political games with this water, it’s wrong.”

On Monday, Trump implied that his executive orders were already being hastily and aggressively carried out as he posted on Truth Social: “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!”

This prompted the California Department of Water Resources, or DWR, to tweet the following response.

“The military did not enter California,” DWR clarified. “The federal government restarted federal water pumps after the were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”

You can read about Senator Padilla’s response to that post here: www.dailykos.com/...

Trump’s Executive Orders were issued as the Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations are in their worst-ever crisis. Salmon fishing has been closed for the past two years and is expected to be closed this year also, due to the collapse of Sacramento and Klamath River fall-run Chinook populations.

For seven years in a row, no Delta smelt, an indicator species that was ounce the most abundant fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, have been caught in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s annual fall survey. Now, Trump appears to be ordering that far more fresh water be moved out of the Northern California and its Delta and shipped down south, a move that would seal the doom of already Imperiled Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Hegseth,

I write regarding the troubling unscheduled release of water from two dams in California’s Central Valley by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following President Trump’s Executive Order falsely linking statewide water policies to the wildfires in Los Angeles. As I’m sure the Administration is aware, the rivers into which this water was released do not actually flow into Los Angeles.

Unscheduled water releases require close coordination with local officials and safety personnel, as well as downstream agricultural water users, in order to reduce flood risks to communities and farms. Based on the urgent concerns I have heard from my constituents, as well as recent reporting, it appears that gravely insufficient notification was given, recklessly endangering residents downstream. Therefore, I ask that you respond in writing to the following questions:

1. Who directed that these releases be made?

2. If the purpose of these releases is to help fight wildfires in Los Angeles County (which are already almost fully contained), what is the plan to transport this water to Los Angeles rather than let the water simply be discharged into Tulare Lake where it will evaporate?

3. What type of notification, and how much advanced notice, was given to irrigation districts and public safety personnel to prepare for these increased flows?

4. What impact will these releases have on Tulare Lake communities, including private landowners?

Clarity and transparency on these matters are crucial to ensure that the public is properly informed, that proper procedures are followed, and that any actions taken in the name of protecting against natural disasters will have the intended impact.

I look forward to your prompt response to these questions.

Sincerely

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/2/2300631/-Senator-Padilla-Demands-Answers-After-Army-Corps-Orders-Central-Valley-Dams-Open-to-Flood-Levels?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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