{"id":8815,"date":"2026-09-09T23:39:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T23:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815"},"modified":"2026-09-09T23:39:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T23:39:50","slug":"trump-administration-tells-california-its-key-water-plan-is-unworkable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

By Ian James, Los Angeles Times<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The huge inland body of water that is the heart of California\u2019s water system is under major stress.<\/p>\n

Read more Letters: The question we should ask is, \u2018Why so few affordable homes?\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why state officials say they worked for years to come up with a plan to help halt the ecological decline of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.<\/p>\n

Now that plan is under attack from the Trump administration and the largest irrigation authority in the Central Valley.<\/p>\n

In a letter, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says California\u2019s plan for the Delta will shortchange farmers by restricting how much water the federal government pumps from the state\u2019s largest rivers. The letter says the plan threatens the \u201centire fabric of California\u2019s agricultural economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bureau manages one of California\u2019s two main water systems, including massive pumps that pull water from the Delta and send it flowing to farms and communities as far south as Bakersfield. The agency said that if California regulators don\u2019t change the plan, the federal government won\u2019t contribute funds to projects that restore habitat for fish and other wildlife, something endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n

The Central Valley\u2019s Westlands Water District also announced it would pull out of providing funds for habitat restoration if the state sticks to its current plan, because it abandons key parts of agreements negotiated with the state in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state substantially has changed the terms and walked away\u201d from that earlier deal, Westlands General Manager Allison Febbo said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The state\u2019s bay-Delta plan has been in the making throughout Newsom\u2019s two terms as governor. It \u201creflects years of collaboration with water users, federal and state agencies\u201d and others, and includes \u201csubstantial revisions made in response to comments from the Bureau of Reclamation,\u201d said Jackie Carpenter, a spokesperson for the state water board.<\/p>\n

Now the growing conflict over the plan, which is set to be adopted next month by the State Water Resources Control Board, suggests a legal battle is likely.<\/p>\n

The Delta provides water for nearly 30 million people and 4 million acres of farmland. As the state has relied heavily on its water, native fish such as Chinook salmon, steelhead trout and longfin smelt have declined.<\/p>\n

Once adopted, the state plan will set rules that determine how much water can be pumped out of the Delta and how much should stay in rivers and the estuary for fish and the environment.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Released last month, it would give water agencies two ways of complying with Delta water quality rules. They could either limit pumping to maintain minimum levels of water in rivers and the estuary, as has traditionally been done, or take part in \u201cvoluntary agreements\u201d in which water agencies commit to ensuring certain river flows and paying for fish habitat restoration.<\/p>\n

This voluntary approach, which state officials call the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program, has been controversial. Many California water agencies support it. Environmental advocates contend it would starve the Delta and threaten fish already in severe decline.<\/p>\n

Newsom and his administration have touted the deals as a break with years of conflict that will benefit the Delta\u2019s ecology.<\/p>\n

If a water agency fails to meet commitments under the collaborative approach, state officials have said, they still have the option of putting that agency back under the traditional regulations \u2014 one of the points the Trump administration called \u201cunworkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more New Apple CEO unveils latest iPhone lineup, including foldable model<\/a><\/p>\n

While fighting California on environmental policy, Trump has sought to pump more water from the state\u2019s rivers. Last year, the Trump administration announced it would soon start pumping more into the aqueducts of the Central Valley Project. At the same time, the administration has moved to weaken federal protections for endangered fish and other species.<\/p>\n

In its letter, the Bureau of Reclamation cited concerns about restrictions on pumping under the state\u2019s plan. Deputy Commissioner Aubrey Bettencourt wrote that the state cannot impose such conditions on how the federal government operates reservoirs, such as Shasta Dam and Folsom Dam.<\/p>\n

She said the current plan is an example of the board\u2019s regulatory overreach.<\/p>\n

Bettencourt urged the board to scrap the current proposal and go back to the plan outlined in 2022.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what the Trump administration intends here, said Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if their strategy is that, \u2018We\u2019re out, we\u2019re going to wreck the plan,\u2019\u201d Mount said. \u201cThe strategy could be to blow it up. The strategy could be to force it into litigation. The strategy could be to get them to change it so that it\u2019s more favorable for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the intention, the strong opposition from both the federal government and the largest water agency in the Central Valley puts all the Newsom administration\u2019s water deals at risk, Mount said.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s office referred questions to the California Department of Water Resources, which said the state will continue working with water agencies to advance the collaborative program, calling it \u201ca critical step forward to protect future water supplies while improving environmental conditions across our largest river systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state water board is accepting comments on the plan until Sept. 18 and will consider whether to adopt it at a hearing on Oct. 28 and 29.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s plan for negotiated agreements with water agencies would be disastrous for fish and the environment in the Delta, said Gary Bobker, program director of the environmental group Friends of the River.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump approach is worse because it would move us backward, resulting in conditions even more harmful than the current status quo,\u201d he said, \u201cand neutering the state\u2019s ability to protect and manage its own water resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration apparently wants to ensure the plan that\u2019s adopted does not interfere while the federal government weakens environmental protections and maximizes the water it takes from the Delta, said Barry Nelson, an advisor with the Golden State Salmon Assn., a nonprofit group.<\/p>\n

The opposition from the Trump administration and Westlands Water District, he said, present the Newsom administration and the state water board with a thorny test.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill they stand up or roll over?\u201d he said. \u201cIf they agree to bow to the bureau\u2019s demands, they would need to rewrite the plan dramatically, which would take months. And the world would know that Trump forced Newsom to gut his own signature water plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Amateur comedian busted after police link San Ramon theft footage to video of his standup routine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a letter, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says California\u2019s plan for the Delta will shortchange farmers by restricting how much water the federal government pumps from the state\u2019s largest rivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019 - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019 - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a letter, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says California\u2019s plan for the Delta will shortchange farmers by restricting how much water the federal government pumps from the state\u2019s largest rivers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-09T23:39:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-09T23:39:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815\"},\"wordCount\":1120,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815\",\"name\":\"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019 - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-09T23:39:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp\",\"width\":2121,\"height\":1414},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8815#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019 - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019 - Next City Digest","og_description":"In a letter, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says California\u2019s plan for the Delta will shortchange farmers by restricting how much water the federal government pumps from the state\u2019s largest rivers.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-09-09T23:39:50+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019","datePublished":"2026-09-09T23:39:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815"},"wordCount":1120,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815","name":"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019 - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp","datePublished":"2026-09-09T23:39:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e88d2ebc144b3e1b197a617ba2bc7f04.webp","width":2121,"height":1414},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8815#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump administration tells California its key water plan is \u2018unworkable\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}