BAKERSFIELD. CALIF, (KERO) — The recent water release in Tulare County could significantly affect irrigation practices for farmers in Kern and the Central Valley.
- Water released from Kaweah and Success lakes on February 3, 2025.
- The release may impact farmers in Kern and Central Valley.
- Some farmers are concerned about the effects on irrigation.
- Local authorities are monitoring the situation closely.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Water from two dams in Tulare County is being released early under an executive order by President Trump. Doing so may also hurt our agriculture in Kern County.
Under the executive order, the US Army Corps of Engineers began releasing billions of gallons of water from two dams in the Kaweah and Success Reservoirs in Tulare County. Trump claims it was to help combat wildfires in Southern California.
However, many people here in Kern County disagree, saying that using that water now could be harmful for farmers.
California Senator Adam Schiff calls this "a waste of water."
Jay Kroker is a local farmer and a partner with Starrh and Starrh Cotton Growers. He explains how this could affect the agriculture industry, considering the water was released at a different time. "The agriculture side, normally with permanent crops, you probably would start irrigating those for the year until maybe later this month, but it is certainly fine to start putting water on them now to get ready for the upcoming bloom." Mr. Kroker said.
Meanwhile, President Trump says releasing the water wasn’t easy because it had to go through a lot of environmentalist regulations.
"All we are doing is giving Los Angeles and the entire state of California virtually unlimited water, which they could’ve done five years ago, which I told them they should do. But the environmentalists stopped them, and we opened it and did it regardless of the state, and now the state seems very happy." Donald Trump said.
Mr. Kroker says there are more questions than answers at this point, and that it would be very difficult for the water to get to Los Angeles.
"That water would never go to Southern California over the Grapevine. I don’t think there’s a policy that allows for that."
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says they do not have any additional information about the decision-making process nor the intended destination of the water released.
Many questions still remain unanswered about the long-term impacts of this water being released so early.
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