California Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration for details about the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to “sacrifice” more than 2 billion gallons of water in California’s Central Valley in late January, following reports that the agency knew the water would be wasted.
Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, along with Reps. Mike Levin and Laura Friedman, demanded answers in a Tuesday letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“This is water that should have been saved for critical water needs and summer irrigation for farmers that could have irrigated 6,000 acres of agricultural trees for an entire year,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Instead, this water was left to evaporate in a dry lake bed, sacrificing vital resources in a drought-prone state, seemingly for the appearance of taking action to fight the already contained fires in Los Angeles.”
