CALIFORNIA – California representative Jared Huffman, along with representatives Mike Levin and Laura Friedman, sent a letter, March 10, to the Trump Administration demanding answers regarding the release of 2 billion gallons of water. 

Following the January 7 wildfires in Los Angeles County, Trump criticized the state’s water management policies, as it was reported that fire hydrants ran out of water. 

His administration directed the US Army Corps of Engineers to release water from two dams in California’s Central Valley between January 31 and February 2.

In Huffman’s second letter to the administration, he asks about the unscheduled water release “which deviated from standard protocol and wasted two billion gallons of water.”

Amy Corps knew water would not reach SoCal

The Democratic lawmakers refer to a memo obtained by the Washington Post. 

Army Corps Col. Chad W. Caldwell, commander of the Sacramento district, wrote that the water that poured out of Lake Kaweah and Success Lake “could not be delivered to Southern California directly.”     

The lawmakers say that instead of the Army Corps delivering water to Southern California, it was left to evaporate in a dry lake bed.

“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,” they said in the letter.

‘Lack of coordination is entirely unprecedented’

According to the lawmakers, the decision caught ​​local water managers off guard, and in some cases, they were given just a few hours of advance notice. 

“This lack of coordination is entirely unprecedented given the Corps’ established flood safety rules, as outlined in Chapter 5 of the water control management manual (ER 1110-2-240), which require communication and coordination with stakeholders and the general public,” said the representatives.

They contend that the Army Corps knew several steps of coordination with local, state, and federal agencies would be required to bring the water through a rarely used connection point to deliver it to Southern California.

The representatives requested details on who ordered the breach of flood safety rules, who was contacted before the releases, the objectives of the water release, and whether similar actions are planned moving forward.

They requested answers to the questions no later than March 21, 2025.

To read the full letter click here.

RELATED: CA official concerned that Trump’s water release did not provide LA with additional water