- Over 2.5 billion gallons of water released from California reservoirs.
- Releases had no impact on wildfires and disrupted farmers.
- Lawmakers demand answers on the uncoordinated water release.
March 14, 2025 — A recent investigation revealed that President Donald Trump ordered a water release that led to the waste of billions of gallons of water in California. The decision, which was purportedly made to aid in Los Angeles’ wildfire response, has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers and water experts who argue that the release was unnecessary, poorly coordinated, and detrimental to farmers and local communities.
The Executive Order and Its Impact.
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas
.” In response, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reviewed water levels and initiated releases from Success Lake (Schafer Dam) and Lake Kaweah (Terminus Dam) beginning on January 30.
The release resulted in over 2.5 billion gallons of water being discharged over three days. According to an internal USACE memo, the water “could not be delivered to Southern California directly” due to the lack of coordination with state and federal agencies. Despite this, the Army Corps proceeded with the release to comply with the executive order.
Wasted Resources and Unanswered Questions.
The release was met with concerns from local officials and lawmakers. Watermasters from affected irrigation districts also raised alarms about potential flooding and water loss.
Further scrutiny revealed that the release did not serve its intended purpose. The wildfires in Los Angeles County had already been contained, making the justification for the release questionable. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) called the decision a “dangerous publicity stunt,” emphasizing that the uncoordinated release “threatens lives” and disregards proper water management protocols. In his March 10 press release, Senator Padilla wrote:
Earlier this year, Senator Padilla immediately demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Trump took credit for directing these dangerous releases and admitted he was responsible for nearly flooding downstream communities, while falsely claiming he delivered billions of gallons of water to Southern California. These actions wasted significant water resources that farmers were saving for use in the summer. Padilla also questioned Hegseth on President Trump’s January 27th Truth Social post, which claimed that the U.S. military “entered” California and “turned on the water” flowing from Northern California to other parts of the state, despite the fact that water was flowing at similar pumping levels as under the prior Administration. President Trump has incorrectly blamed statewide water policy for the devastating Los Angeles fires.
Local officials warned the Army 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.
Congressional Inquiry and Lawmaker Response.
On March 11, 2025, Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02), alongside Representatives Mike Levin (CA-49) and Laura Friedman (CA-30), sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding accountability. The letter highlighted that the release was politically motivated and failed to follow standard flood control and water management practices.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about the lack of transparency and communication with local water managers. A congressional hearing in February further underscored these issues, with a Corps official admitting, “I don’t know what happened to the water once it was released from the dams.”
With lawmakers demanding answers, questions remain about the broader implications of such executive directives on water management. The incident has renewed discussions about federal and state coordination in handling critical water resources, especially in drought-prone regions like California.
As the investigation continues, policymakers are expected to push for stricter oversight and clearer protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Image:
Lake Kaweah, California
, August 2018 by Davric. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
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