Last month’s wildfires in California destroyed thousands of homes, killed at least 29 people and will likely cost hundreds of billions of dollars. President Trump has claimed that state officials made the disaster worse by how they managed the state’s complex water system. William Brangham looks at those allegations and the realities of water management in the nation’s most populous state.
Reservoirs across California recently received good news only weeks after a late January snowpack update from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) sparked concern. Although a series of atmospheric rivers brought heavy snow to high-elevation areas in parts of northern and central California in November and December, Southern California had an unusually dry start to the winter season. The lack of precipitation fueled wildfires in the region in January and furthered the state’s challenges with drought.
Santa Rosa. Paradise. Boulder County. Lahaina. Los Angeles. All are places that have shown that American cities and their water systems weren’t built to withstand wildfire, experts say. Hydrants trickled. Pumps and treatment plants lost power. Chemical contaminants were sucked into pipes, requiring extensive and costly work. In Paradise alone, where the 2018 Camp Fire killed at least 85 people and destroyed more than 18,000 structures, rebuilding the drinking water system is expected to cost $125 million and take three-and-a half more years.
According to a new comprehensive analysis of drinking water and sewer rates, the combined water and sewer bill for a typical U.S. household has increased by 4.6% from 2023 to 2024 and about 24% in the past five years.
Plastic straws, high flow toilets and incandescent light bulbs could make comebacks as President Donald Trump works to end certain environmental standards.
I fear we have entered a new, dangerous era under President Donald Trump’s second term. In recent days, we have witnessed water management decisions being made in Washington without the benefit of input from local experts and those being impacted.
Immigration and border security will be the likely focus of U.S.-Mexico relations under the new Trump administration. But there also is a growing water crisis along the U.S.–Mexico border that affects tens of millions of people on both sides, and it can only be managed if the two governments work together. Climate change is shrinking surface and groundwater supplies in the southwestern U.S. Higher air temperatures are increasing evaporation rates from rivers and streams and intensifying drought.
There’s a lot to be nervous about in today’s world. Here’s another: President Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom are talking about the future of the environmentally threatened San Francisco Bay-Delta. On Feb. 5, they met at the White House to discuss fire relief and water issues. Neither party revealed what water issues were discussed or if an agreement was reached. The public and the people who depend on the health of the magnificent Bay-Delta ecosystem, have a right to know the details of these private talks. And they have cause to be concerned.
The drought may have ended in 2017, but now, even when it’s raining, California’s water supply has remained a topic of debate. And while there have been calls for more water storage, some believe the problem could be solved if we stopped viewing water as a single-use product. Much of Northern and Central California’s freshwater flows toward the Delta. But with so much being siphoned off by so many different interests, it’s become a huge battleground in state Sen. Jerry McNerney’s district.
We are now midway through our typical water year when it comes to rain and Sierra snow.
