American Rivers Statement on President’s California Water and Disaster Response Executive Order
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hawk Hammer, National Communications and Media Director, Hhammer@americanrivers.org
WASHINGTON D.C. — In response to President Trump’s executive order on water resources and disaster response in California and North Carolina, American Rivers is today encouraging additional investments in water infrastructure and urging the administration to commit to science-based decision-making.
“This executive order could risk the health and safety of Californians and their natural resources up and down the state,” said Tom Kiernan, president and CEO of American Rivers. “California is an economic powerhouse dependent on smart water policy informed by science and the best approaches for protecting people from fires, droughts, and other extreme weather. This executive order falls short of that goal.”
The executive order overrides state laws, particularly around private water rights, and state water policy in California, undermines the Endangered Species Act and its protections of several species of imperiled fish that present high commercial value, hinders the National Environmental Policy Act and directs the Interior and Commerce Secretaries to maximize water storage at projects, without consideration of limitations based in public safety.
It would also potentially allow for road construction with limited environmental oversight in storm-stricken areas in North Carolina, jeopardizing river health and water quality.
“Fundamentally, extreme weather has magnified what used to be natural processes into natural disasters that are far more extreme than any of our infrastructure is designed to address,” said Ann Willis, California regional director for American Rivers. “Sadly, these issues have been politicized and conflated with other difficult and complex water challenges. The problems around water management in the Delta for agriculture and ecosystems are not closely related to the reasons why we’re short of water right now for wildfires.”
Fire season in California historically has been May through October; now it is year-round. Concurrently, Southern California has experienced its driest 9-month period in the last 150 years.
“Water systems that were designed to store water for fire-fighting responses were never designed to supply enough water for this confluence of major fires and extreme winds,” said Willis. “We need to follow the science and avoid politicizing tragedy. Our people, our environment, and our economy depend on us building collaborations across difference for unprecedented and urgent solutions.