TULARE COUNTY – Due to the dedicated efforts of local water managers, the impact of this week’s reservoir releases were far less than what was anticipated if dam operators had adhered strictly to the initial executive order from the White House.
According to a combined statement from the Tulare River Association, Lower Tule River Irrigation District, Kaweah & St. Johns Rivers Association and Tulare Irrigation District, when the water releases concluded on Feb. 2, approximately 4,200 acre-feet of water was released from Lake Kaweah and 2,500 acre-feet from Success Reservoir.
“The water in both reservoirs was being stored under water rights held by various pre-1914 water rights holders on the Kaweah and Tule Rivers for irrigation purposes and was managed in cooperation with the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) to achieve the combined benefits of both flood control and water supply for the region,” the release stated.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who operate federal dams in the state, started releasing significant volumes of water from the reservoirs on Jan. 31. The dams serve as both flood control and water supply for farms in the Kaweah and Tule river watersheds. The day prior, local water managers received approximately one hour’s notice from the Army Corps’ Sacramento office about impending releases that would bring both the Tule and Kaweah rivers to “channel capacity,” according to a report from SJV Water.
According to the follow up report from SJV Water on the matter, the order was issued a week after an executive order from President Trump on Jan. 24 in which he mandated federal officers to exert all efforts to increase water in Southern California to combat wildfires in Los Angeles County despite the fires being nearly contained.
“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,” a supervising public affairs specialist in the Army Corps’ Washington, D.C. office, Gene Pawlik said in the report.
However, it was noted in the release from the water districts that the rivers do not connect to the California Aqueduct or the ocean, making the feasibility of using this water to extinguish fires in Southern California seem unlikely.
“California’s water operations are incredibly complex. The movement of water supplies requires an extensive understanding of the plumbing, safety concerns, laws and coordination among the various owners and operators of water and canals,” the joint release from local water entities stated.
Initially, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was directed to release water at levels that would bring the rivers to their “channel capacity,” which would’ve been 5,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) for the Kaweah and 3,500 cfs for the Tule. According to SJV Water, these levels hadn’t been seen since the floods of 2023, which caused extensive damage to local infrastructure and property.
It was through the negotiation efforts of local water districts that the Corps released the water at reduced volumes.
According to the joint release from the water districts, close coordination with the federal administration and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers will continue to determine if and when a future flood release is required, as has been the case historically.
“Until then, our coordination is intended to achieve utilization of our reservoirs to maximize surface water supplies to meet downstream demands in the summer and alleviate groundwater use,” the release stated.
Pushback from Valley lawmakers
In response to the decision to release water stored in the reservoirs, Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) expressed concern over the lack of coordination and notification to local communities, questioning the rationale behind the releases and their potential impact on downstream areas.
“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 said in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) also questioned the timing of the releases, noting that they occurred during a period of low irrigation demand and below-average snowpack. He warned that such actions could jeopardize water supply reliability and increase costs for farmers this summer.
“I have heard from my constituents — including Central Valley farmers and experienced water managers — that there was very little notice regarding the release of this water,” Costa stated in his letter to Hegseth.
Both legislators emphasized that the Kaweah and Tule rivers do not flow into Los Angeles, and questioned the feasibility of the executive order’s goals. Costa also asked Hegseth to be considerate of the sustainability of California’s water resources during the worsening impacts of climate changes.
“California’s water challenges require that we work together to ensure that we are adequately prepared for more consistent extreme weather events and prolonged periods of drought,” Costa stated. “By working together, we can ensure that there is an adequate and balanced supply of water to meet agricultural, environmental, and drinking water needs.”
Congressman David Valadao did not respond to request for comment from The Sun-Gazette by deadline. Representatives from Congressman Vince Fong emailed the following response:
“Having the President of the United States actively engaged in California’s water policy is critical to our efforts to modernize and improve California’s water storage and conveyance system. Recent actions created additional capacity through recharge for upcoming storms and with the additional pumps operating at the Jones Pumping Plant, we are seeing additional action to move water throughout California. Keeping the pumps operational at Jones Pumping Plant now and moving forward and building more water infrastructure continues to be my high priority to get more water to our Central Valley farmers and communities.”
The Jones Pumping Plant facility in Tracy that pumps water to farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Fong’s office did not respond to questions from The Sun-Gazette about water releases on the east side of the Valley as of press time.
