Trump renews fight over California water, endangered fish

By Jennifer Yachnin | 01/21/2025 01:58 PM EST

An executive order signed by President Donald Trump orders federal agencies to find a way to “route more water” from California’s wet north to its dry south.

California's Westlands Water District of the Central Valley.

Canals in California's Westlands Water District of the Central Valley carry waters south in 2009. Russel A. Daniels/AP

President Donald Trump on Monday renewed the debate around a tiny, endangered California fish.

Trump issued an executive order to the Interior and Commerce departments, under the title “Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California.”

The order directs the departments to find a way to “route more water” from California’s wet north to its dry south, where Trump says the population “desperately need a reliable water supply.”

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The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a major water hub for California, providing water to about 30 million people and irrigating 6 million acres of farmland.

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