President Donald Trump has long complained about modern rules that limit water flow for showerheads, making it harder for him to wash his “beautiful hair.”
In his first term, Trump directed that restrictions on showerheads be loosened, an action that former President Joe Biden reversed.
Now Trump is going to let the water flow — again.
A coalition of top scientists loaded its last set of wastewater samples for analysis Sunday after receiving the final word from San Diego County late last week that the work should cease due to a nationwide clawback of federal public health funds.
Tariffs and immigration crackdowns have taken center stage in recent weeks as President Donald Trump pushes border tougher restrictions. But there has been another issue also playing out: water.
The Trump administration announced a wave of regulatory rollbacks on Wednesday including a repeal of Biden-era emissions limits on power plants and automobiles, as well as reduced protections for waterways.
When President Trump called for the federal government to “maximize” water deliveries in California, commanders of the Army Corps of Engineers quickly found two dams where they could carry out that order. And even though the officials knew the water couldn’t be moved out of the Central Vally as Trump wished, they released billions of gallons anyway, according to a newly released government document.
After the Washington Post revealed late last week that the Army Corps of Engineers knew that releasing water from two California reservoirs at President Donald Trump’s direction in January was unlikely to reach the southern part of the state, Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., is demanding answers from the Pentagon and the Department of Interior for what he calls the “politically motivated, uncoordinated, unscheduled, and opaque water releases” in the Central Valley between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2.
The Trump administration has ordered firings and buyouts at the federal agency that operates water infrastructure in California, potentially jeopardizing the agency’s ability to manage dams and deliver water, according to Central Valley water officials.
President Donald Trump’s recent order to release water from reservoirs into California’s Central Valley had no direct impact on San Diego. But the new administration will be overseeing negotiations that will determine the future of a main source of the county’s water: the Colorado River.
It’s anybody’s guess whether Trump’s unpredictable nature and penchant for unorthodox power moves — as he just exhibited — will be a factor.
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.
