Last week, Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke circulated a memo asking staff to prepare a plan that would divert more water from Northern California to the San Joaquin Valley, the heart of California’s agriculture economy. Secretary Zinke asked staff to prepare an action plan within 15-days that improves infrastructure necessary for the operation of the Central Valley Project.
In the memo, Secretary Zinke said the Trump Administration is reviewing a broad range of legal measures to override decisions of the State Water Resources Control Board and pump more water to farmers in the southern part of the state. Secretary Zinke’s plan is praised by farmers in the San Joaquin Valley who hope the policy will restore the Central Valley Project’s viability and invigorate California’s agriculture economy.
Secretary Zinke’s memo was quickly followed by a move from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to give notice to California State officials that the federal agency will seek to reorganize the federal and state water projects throughout the state. If the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is successful it will divert more water to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley which will leave less water for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves the entire Greater Los Angeles Area.
Secretary Zinke’s office says it was merely a coincidence that his memo was released the same day that the Bureau of Reclamation gave its notice, but the two actions indicate tensions are escalating between California and federal water authorities.