Waste of water: opening dams to fight fires that are already under control

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a government agency which falls under the purview the President of the United States in his capacity as Commander in Chief. On January 31st President Donald Trump ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to open two dams in California, emptying around two billion gallons of water from the Lake Kaweah and Lake Success reservoirs. Both reservoirs are located in the central valley, specifically Tulare County.

President Trump allegedly ordered the opening of the dams in order to provide additional water to assist with the fires in Los Angeles (though the fires had been contained at this point and the water sources were 200 miles south, more on that here.) In a departure from usual practice, the action was undertaken with little coordination between federal and local officials.

Usually, the water in those reservoirs is slowly released during summer for farmers in the central valley to use as the heat picks up. This is important as less surface water has been available to farmers in recent years due to lower storage levels and the implementation of water right limits meant to protect the environment and other use.  As a result, local officials, water activists, and farmers have expressed some concern, noting that the water would have been more useful if saved for the summer. 

 "'These kinds of shenanigans, they hurt smaller farmers,' said Dezaraye Bagalayos, a local water activist. Small growers have already been struggling, and the release of water from the dams means they will have less when they need it, Bagalayos said." 

Bagalayos also expressed concern over individuals who are uninformed of the local situation calling shots that impact the local communities.

However, others have noted that one significant benefit of the decision to open the dams is that the released water will go towards replenishing ground water reserves (another blog post on groundwater supply issues here). 

Only time will reveal the true impact of the unilateral decision. However, regardless of its actual impact, it provides a good opportunity to reflect on some important considerations.

First, the decisions seems to underscore the way the government and people assign value to urban and rural areas relative to each other. Immediately following the start of the Los Angeles fires, people were quick to pit rural and urban interests against each other with regards to the allocation of fire fighting resources. The unilateral action by the President, whatever his true intentions were, sacrificed a rural resource to supposedly help an urban area. 

Secondly, it highlights the staunch support Trump has garnered from rural communities by appealing to the issues they face. Even though the water was wasted on an urban problem that was under control at the time, some farmers in the area still had good things to say about the decision, praising the "trigger pulling attitude" and "just getting stuff done." Vince Fong, the congressman for the district affected by the water dump, stated that he was excited to have a president that was "engaged in California water policy and maximizing the coordination of systems."

Last, it highlights the importance of seeking out local insight before utilizing local resources. While rural problems are often discussed through a lens of neglect, citing a lack of government support, it is also apparent that ill-informed and rash government action has the potential to greatly damage rural communities.