Releases and Statements

September 6, 2024

U.S. House of Representatives Committee Members Hearing

Santa Nella, CA – Today, members of the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee held a hearing titled “Water Abundance: Opportunities and Challenges in California.”

The committee members heard from California experts on the impacts of compliance with the Endangered Species Act and associated regulatory efforts on local communities, business, and America’s food supply.

“Today’s testimony shows how broken our water supply system has become. The U.S. had an agricultural trade deficit in 2019 where, for the first time in 50 years we imported more food than we exported.” said Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition. “That trend has continued in three of the last five years. When California farms don’t have water to grow our food, we’re depending on other countries to do it. That’s not good for food security or having safe, affordable food choices for the American people.”

Testimony heard from the experts is summarized by topic below.

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Regulatory Burden

Ronda Lucas, a water and environmental attorney, critiqued the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for its failure to recover species despite being in effect for over 50 years.

Lucas argued that the ESA has listed more than 1,700 species, but only 2% of those species have been recovered. She attributed this failure to bureaucratic inefficiencies and litigation that prioritize listing species over recovery.

Lucas also pointed out the ESA’s negative impact on water availability in California, particularly on farmers, as unelected officials impose water scarcity measures in the name of species protection without yielding measurable benefits for the environment.

She cited a study from 2023 showing that after 40 years and $9 billion spent on salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin, there has been no empirical evidence of increased wild fish populations.

Jason Phillips, CEO of the Friant Water Authority, discussed how the ESA has negatively impacted water deliveries in the San Joaquin Valley.

He highlighted that agricultural water users south of the Delta received only 50% of their water supply in a year that followed a wet winter, due to these environmental regulations.
He remarked that regulatory actions over 30 years have failed to help struggling fish populations, while restricting water access for communities and agriculture.
He also underscored concerns with the 2019 Biological Opinion, noting it may exacerbate water scarcity.

William Bourdeau, a San Joaquin Valley farmer, expressed frustration with how the ESA and other regulations lead to delays in water allocation announcements.

In 2024, despite historic rainfall and snowpack, the Bureau of Reclamation initially provided only minimal water allocations. These delays had severe impacts on agricultural planning, resulting in lost contracts and idle equipment.
Bourdeau emphasized the need for timely, transparent water management that reflects real-time conditions.

Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, echoed concerns about the slow, ineffective nature of the ESA’s regulatory process.

She noted that despite decades of stringent regulation, fish populations continue to decline, and water supply reliability has eroded.
Febbo spoke on the need for reforms to improve transparency and adaptive management practices that can better respond to real-time environmental needs.

Water Scarcity and Infrastructure Challenges

Jason Phillips highlighted the inefficiency of California’s current water management system, where overly conservative and ineffective regulations and lack of new infrastructure prevent water from being stored during wet years.

He pointed out that the Friant-Kern Canal and related systems deliver 1.2 million acre-feet of irrigation water annually to over 15,000 farms on one million acres of some of the most productive farmland in the world.
He noted that despite abundant rainfall in recent years, water deliveries were limited to only 50% of contracted amounts due to regulatory restrictions.
Phillips mentioned that the southern third of the Friant-Kern Canal has lost 60% of its capacity due to land subsidence caused by excessive groundwater pumping. This results in an annual loss of 100,000–300,000 acre-feet of water that could have been used for irrigation and groundwater recharge.

William Bourdeau noted that delays in water allocations due to regulatory inefficiencies create significant disruptions in agricultural supply chains.

For instance, garlic packers, who plant in September and October, and tomato processors, who finalize commitments in January, are unable to adjust their operations if water announcements are delayed until March. This leads to economic losses across the entire agricultural sector

Allison Febbo added that California’s outdated water infrastructure, which was designed for past climate conditions, is not equipped to handle the current hydrologic variability caused by climate change. She underscored the need to repair and expand water storage facilities, conveyance systems, and groundwater management to secure water supplies for agriculture and communities

Economic and Social Impact

Ronda Lucas discussed the far-reaching social and economic impacts of regulatory droughts. She pointed to the high unemployment rates, poverty, and increased instances of respiratory illnesses, particularly asthma, as a result of dust from fallowed fields due to water shortages.

Lucas mentioned that these water shortages, caused by regulatory decisions, have led to violations of the Clean Air Act, directly harming the health of children, the elderly, and vulnerable communities.

William Bourdeau stressed that water scarcity has led to a collapse of the social fabric in farming communities.

He highlighted the stress and mental health challenges faced by families dependent on agriculture, citing rising cases of respiratory illness, domestic violence, depression, and even suicide as indirect consequences of mismanaged water resources.
Bourdeau also noted that the scarcity artificially inflates food prices, disproportionately affecting low-income families across the nation.

Technological Solutions and Innovation

Josh Weimer, Director of External Affairs at Turlock Irrigation District (TID), presented an optimistic outlook by detailing technological advancements that improve water management.

He highlighted TID’s investment in the Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) and Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO), which have drastically improved the accuracy of water forecasting. For example, the ASO program provides snowpack measurements with 97% accuracy, allowing TID to better manage water supply and flood control during both dry and wet years.Weimer points to the benefits of these technologies during the wet year of 2023, where TID was able to pass over 2 million acre-feet of water through Don Pedro Reservoir by carefully managing early releases. This not only mitigated the risk of flooding but also generated $20 million in hydroelectric power by efficiently using water flows.
Weimer also emphasized TID’s Hydrologic Forecasting and Analysis Model (HFAM), which provides hourly watershed conditions and enables more precise water management decisions. The model has proven to be accurate within a 2% margin, helping TID to maximize both water storage and flood control capacity.