SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is hedging its bets on how it cooperates with the federal government on water ahead of a potential second Trump term.
With federal and state officials in the midst of renegotiating how they manage a 400-mile system of reservoirs, pumps and canals that delivers water to taps and farms across the state, California’s Department of Water Resources is taking steps to follow the guidelines of its own wildlife officials, rather than the federal ones it has relied on in the past.
The move is California’s attempt to control its water — and protect the state’s endangered species from a potential second Trump administration.
Lenny Grimaldo, the State Water Project’s environmental director, said in an email the decision to maintain the split was “to ensure [California Endangered Species Act] coverage remains in place even if there is a future change in federal law.”
