Trump Executive Order Takes Aim At California's Water Management

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, January 28, 2025…

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order Sunday that he says will help Southern California fight future wildfires. The order directs federal agencies to bypass state and federal environmental rules, to send more water from California’s Delta. Trump has said this move will help protect against wildfires, by bolstering Southern California’s water supplies. But this order won’t actually do that.
• A new strain of bird flu has been detected for the first time in the United States. It was found in Merced County.
• Just one week into President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been seen conducting operations in San Jose.

Trump Orders More Central Valley Water Deliveries — Claiming It Would Help LA Fires

President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Sunday that told federal agencies to “immediately take action” to deliver more Central Valley water and eliminate rules that stand in the way, including endangered species protections.

In the new order, Trump cited the Los Angeles fires, even though the actions he is ordering — delivering more water from the federal Central Valley Project — would primarily serve farms. About 75% of Central Valley Project water is used for agriculture, while much of the rest goes to cities and towns in the San Joaquin Valley, including Sacramento and Fresno.

“In particular, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce shall immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries,” Trump’s order reads.

At stake are the rules that guide two massive Delta water systems, the federal Central Valley Project and a state-operated system, the State Water Project. These networks of reservoirs, pumps and canals deliver water to millions of acres of farmland and 30 million people. They draw water from rivers that flow into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay, which imperils Chinook salmon, smelt and sturgeon that are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. Trump ordered federal agencies to “expedite action related to any exemption under the Endangered Species Act…for the long-term operation” of the water delivery systems. In addition, he directed the federal Bureau of Reclamation to “take all available measures to ensure that State agencies — including the California Department of Water Resources — do not interfere.” He entitled a section “Overriding Disastrous California Policies.”

New Strain Of Bird Flu Detected In Merced County

Most of the avian influenza cases detected so far in the U.S. have belonged to a flu subtype known as H5N1. This new subtype is H5N9.

According to the World Organization for Animal Health, both strains were detected in a commercial flock of ducks in Merced County. 119,000 ducks were euthanized as a result.

A previously published scientific study describes H5N9 as a virus that formed from three other flu strains. That’s through a process called reassortment – when multiple viruses infect the same host and exchange genetic material. The study’s authors say it’s not yet clear if—and how—this strain can infect humans.

ICE Operations Take Place In San Jose

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been seen conducting operations in San Jose.

ICE agents were confirmed at two different locations in the city on Sunday, according to the nonprofit Rapid Response Network of Santa Clara County.

Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents the area, says these actions and threats from the president are spreading fear in largely immigrant communities. “It’s impacting the entire economy. People aren’t showing up to work. Kids are not being sent to school by their parents, because their parents are feeling like they’re going to get deported, and that the kids will return to an empty home,” he said.