LA Waterkeeper issues statement regarding President Trump’s executive order tying emergency aid to California water policy

According to a statement from LA Waterkeeper, today President Trump plans to visit the Los Angeles region to see firsthand the devastation caused by massive, climate-driven wildfires across broad swaths of the city.

The President has indicated he plans to issue an unprecedented executive order that conditions providing emergency aid to Angelenos on the state of California making changes to completely unrelated water management policies. In response to expected the issuance of this executive order, Bruce Reznik, executive director of LA Waterkeeper, released the following statement.

“By now, it has been well reported that there was plenty of water available in Southern California at the time these fires broke out and that the President’s proposed solutions for improving water security in our region are impractical and based on a faulty understanding of the state’s water system. If President Trump were truly interested in improving water security in Los Angeles, the executive order would call for more investments to improve the region’s resilience. More money spent on wastewater recycling, stormwater capture, groundwater cleanup and conservation would prepare us for the future. Sending more water to Central Valley agriculture will not.

“Every American should be clear about what the president is doing here: In a time of extreme crisis and tragedy, he is using this emergency to line the pockets of his wealthy benefactors – in this case, industrial agricultural producers in the San Joaquin Valley – at the expense of the rest of us. Water is a big business in California, and it’s no surprise that this president is focused on further enriching the rich rather than meeting the needs of everyday Californians.”

About LaWaterkeeper
The Los Angeles Waterkeeper’s mission is to fight for the health of the region’s waterways, and for sustainable, equitable and climate-friendly water supplies. We envision the Los Angeles region as an international leader on integrated, sustainable and equitable water management; a region that is water self-sufficient and where all waterways throughout the county are safe, healthy and accessible to the public.