CBS: "Water Trump released from dams is rushing into a dry lakebed, not SoCal, and will likely go to waste

[bigtree]

Last edited Mon Feb 3, 2025, 10:05 PM - Edit history (2)

Trump described today how he went about releasing the water.

“We did it at a very rough way and I didn’t like to do it a rough way,” he said, chuckling.

Rachel Bitecofer @RachelBitecofer
CBS NEWS: “.. the water released from dams at Lake Kaweah and Lake Success is rushing into a dry lakebed in the Central Valley, where experts say it can't flow to Southern California and will likely go to waste.”


Following the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in January, President Trump ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California's Central Valley, more than 100 miles away from the fire zones.

Mr. Trump had claimed that California withheld water supplies that could have made a difference in fighting the flames. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials disputed those claims.

"There is absolutely no connection between this water and the water needed for firefighting in L.A.," said Peter Gleick, a climate and hydrology expert. "There's no physical connection. There's no way to move the water from where it is to the Los Angeles basin."

Gleick, who co-founded the Pacific Institute, a research center in Oakland, says the move ignores the reality of water management in California.

"The farmers in the basin own the water and that water is stored in these dams in the winter, during the rainy season, so that farmers can use it in the very hot, long, dry summer season," he explained.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-california-water-order-los-angeles/


Adam Schiff @SenAdamSchiff 2h
Stupid. Ridiculous. Dangerous. Wasteful.

Words that only begin to describe the decision to waste billions of gallons of precious water in California.

Link to tweet

[Wingus Dingus]

1. He wants to attack and cripple California.

You do that by withholding post-fire aid and mismanaging their water. Hurts the farmers, hurts the state economy, hurts Californians (you know, our fellow Americans who aren't the enemy).

[Meadowoak]

12. Cripple California, and who pays for the old Confederate states welfare, foodstamps, and Medicaid?

Asking for a friend.

[MotownPgh]

22. They plan on cutting or eliminating

those programs

[Dem4life1234]

35. He's too fucking stupid to know that

Imagine a Dem trying to wreck one of those hell hole MAGAt states. Ooo, that would never happen.

[BadgerMom]

16. Yep. He's playing mafia games.

He’s threatening Californians with water. Or really the lack of it after he wastes it in his stupid power games. Again, people could die. And he’d applaud.

[uponit7771]

34. Yep, the counties he's flooding are mostly red too

[MotownPgh]

2. He did it to cripple and control california

it was nothing to do with wild fires

[Botany]

8. Egg Zack LEE right

That water is needed late March/early April through October depending on the
crop and soil conditions. My late Grandfather was a fruit grower in southern Oregon
(Ashland) for years who depended on waters that were stored as snow and then
reservoirs during the growing season. Dumping the water now is madness and
designed to hurt the farmers and all of us who buy produce, milk, eggs, or meat.

Trump is a mad man. Winter is more than 1/2 over are they going to get enough
snow and rain to have water for the farmers when they need it?

[Initech]

3. So he basically took a giant leak on my home state. WTF.

[thinkingagain]

4. I think

California should demand that he put the water back😀

[bigtree]

6. and they should do it in a "rough way"

[surfered]

5. Trump is an idiot who will do stupid stuff if he thinks it sells to his stupid base.

[Hitorque]

7. ETTD...

We need to start bringing that acronym back.

[AZLD4Candidate]

9. Every day he fills out another ID-10-T form.

[seleff]

10. Close the gates

Can't the State close the gates and stop the flow? What's the Army Corps going to do, blow up the dams?

[SunSeeker]

11. K & R for exposure

[Hekate]

13. Water released in January does zero for the dry, dry growing season in the summer...

The water in those reservoirs belongs to the farmers — and let’s see — who did they vote for? I hear face-eating leopards growling.

Quote from OP
Trump described today how he went about releasing the water.
“We did it at a very rough way and I didn’t like to do it a rough way,” he said, chuckling.

Whether they liked it or not, eh?

[Aussie105]

14. Did the deadheads who released the water know it wouldn't help?

Or did they go . . . . just following orders, I should be safe from future criticism, right?

Do people realize if everyone gave him the middle finger and ignored him, he'd be powerless?

[Rebl2]

15. They knew

it would not help. Now my question is will it hurt farmers.

[sop]

31. "Or did they go . . . . just following orders"

What worries me the most are the federal employees and members of the military who will follow the imbecile's orders. Today it's roughly wasting water, tomorrow it'll be roughly shipping children off to Guantanamo. "I was just following orders," known as the Nuremberg Defense, isn't valid in a court of law.

[sakabatou]

17. Dump fucked us over. Again.

[Norrrm]

18. The Corps did not know that the water would not get to Los Angeles?

[Hassler]

19. Corp "Just following orders?"

[eppur_se_muova]

21. Of course. No one wants to end his career over a few million acre-feet of water. That's what gives Turnip his power. nt

[eppur_se_muova]

20. Lawrence did a very good segment on this last night. In fact, the whole show was excellent.

Water was released after fires were out. Water is 200 miles from fire area and won't get any closer. Sudden release of water risked catastrophic flooding downstream -- possible fatalities and flooding of productive farmland. Only about one hour's warning, not enough for emergency preparations. No more water to collect now that the rainy season is over, and this lowered the reservoirs too much too provide sufficient water come Summer, so crops will likely die. Water once released can't be recovered -- will just be allowed to evaporate.

Maybe this is a lucky break for a small population of waterfowl, but even then it's only temporary. A totally stupid move by a totally stupid man.

WHEN are people going to start telling Turnip "Yes, SIR !! We did what you said, Sir ! It's all taken care of !" WITHOUT actually doing anything ?? It's not like he'll remember to check.

[BoRaGard]

23. Why do republicons hate America's farmers?

They attacked and scattered the farm workers. Now they are pissing the water away to try and make their draft-dodging felon look like less of an asshole.

Sick. Sad. Sorryass.

[AStern]

24. California has folded

[Unwind Your Mind]

25. I just checked my weather app

The good news is that it’s snowing in Tahoe and raining across most of the state from Santa Cruz north. It’s raining in Stockton. It’s raining in Reno, too warm for snow but the system is moving in their direction.

So we do still have opportunity to top up those reservoirs, fingers crossed

Eta, this system is warm. We are about 25 miles from the coast and near the end of it here and it’s about 15 degrees warmer than normal at this time of day.

[Oopsie Daisy]

26. Exactly as planned. He knew (or was told) what would happen.

[spooky3]

27. Shouldn't Newsom be addressing this? Nt

[Beringia]

28. Lawrence O'Donnell talked about this on his show the Last Word yesterday

[Beringia]

29. Those farmers are going to raise holy hell about this

[Eyeball_Kid]

32. If they're Trumpers, they won't.

They'll zip their collective lips but they'll complain about the Dems. "Newsom made it happen!"

[Turbineguy]

30. But did they get some good pictures?

After all it's the camera opportunities that count.

[underpants]

33. Can the farmers sue for damages?

I’d been wondering who owned the water. I read that it was owned and not by the Fed. The Fed maintains the basin and the dam.