Trump’s return a “once-in-a-lifetime” moment to boost the Valley’s fortunes, water leaders say.
- PAUL PRESTONxd
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
AENN
Day One actions by President Trump upon his return to the White House offer a rare chance for the San Joaquin Valley to capture its water resources, farm leaders said at the California Water Alliance forum Friday.
May 3, 2025
3 minute read
Some of the top players in Central Valley water policy are urging farmers to take action while the time is ripe to press their elected representatives to work with President Donald Trump on making real change in the amount of water that will be delivered to the region for years to come.
That was as the core of the message delivered to over 100 farmers at the fifth annual California Water Alliance forum, held in Fresno on Friday.
The big picture: The California Water Alliance hosted Rep. Vince Fong (R–Bakersfield), Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D–Bakersfield), farmer Stuart Woolf and Friant Water Authority CEO Jason Phillips as the speakers in Friday’s forum, which was moderated by Fresno County Farm Bureau CEO Ryan Jacobsen.
The message from Fong and Phillips was simple: With Trump at the helm, this is a once in a generational opportunity to flip California’s water crisis on its head and return to a period several decades ago when water flowed freely across the state.
Flashback: On his first day in office in January, Trump signed the “Putting People over Fish” executive order to immediately direct his administration to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of California.
He went on to issue his second executive order regarding Central Valley water just days later, ordering his administration to override existing measures that slow efforts to maximize water deliveries in California.
What they’re saying: “This is the moment,” Fong said at the forum. “The stars have aligned. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to do some tremendous things when it comes to water.”
Fong said Trump has brought up the issue of water at every meeting he has had with the president. Fong also said he recently had dinner with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who also initiated a conversation on water and the work of the Bureau of Reclamation to maximize deliveries.
“To have, from the top down, have the president of the United States actively engage is California water policy – this has not happened in the 25 years I’ve been doing this,” Fong said.
Fong continued, “This is the moment. THis is the time to push, to be bold, to be aggressive. No offense to my colleagues in Sacramento, but we’re going to lead. And we need them to follow, and we need them to partner with us. If the governor is going to fight us, then that’s a very unfortunate thing, but nothing’s going to deter us.”
Phillips has generally delivered a more stark message to farmers at the previous four water forums, especially given the fact that Central Valley farmers have rarely received their full contracted water allocations from the federal government. But this time was different, with Phillips seeing the potential for a return to great California water policy that he said ended in the 1970s.
“What we have right now in front of us is what I would call a once in a generation opportunity,” Phillips said. “We will not see it again. We will not see it again, probably for all of us that are in this room, for the rest of our lives.”
His optimism stemmed in large part due to Trump issuing two executive orders regarding Central Valley water within the opening days of his second term in the White House.
“We’ve never had a president willing to do that,” Phillips said. “We know that he is going to make the hard decisions, and that’s what we need done in California.”
Phillips told the farmers to make sure their voices are heard by their elected officials, as well as their water districts, to ensure that Trump can help get them over the finish line with life changing water policy.
Author
Daniel Gligich is senior editor of The San Joaquin Valley Sun. Email him at daniel.gligich@sjvsun.com.
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