A Deeper Look into Trump's Claim That the Military "Entered California and TURNED ON THE WATER."

President Donald Trump’s recent claim that the U.S. military intervened to “turn on the water” in California has been refuted by state officials. On January 28, 2025, Trump posted on Truth Social:

“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond.”

In response, the California Department of Water Resources clarified:

“The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”

So What’s Going on Here, and What’s the Truth?

First, what actually happened was simply this. Three federally owned and federally operated pumps, managed by the Department of the Interior, had been turned off for three days. These pumps were operating earlier in the month during the fires. Trump ordered them restarted. The federal agencies responsible for operating these federal pumps restarted them. No military entered California. The water that started flowing as a result was already flowing during the fires—it had just gone offline for maintenance for three days.

Additional Background on the Dispute

During these LA fires in early January , some hydrants ran dry, which local officials attributed to infrastructure limitations rather than a lack of water supply. The demand overwhelmed the pumping ability. There was no shortage of water; there was a shortage of local pumping capacity, particularly in Pacific Palisades. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) noted that the unprecedented, intense demand on the system led to reduced pressure in certain areas. There was, they claimed, no shortage of water.

Trump, meanwhile was claiming that State water policy management protecting the “delta smelt” (a fish that only exists in the Sacramento river delta area) were causing the flow of water from Northern California to be restricted, resulting in a lack of water to fight the fires. His claims were refuted by various professionals who noted that the delta smelt management issue had nothing to do with water available for firefighting iun southern california, but reather was an issue that had only a more local impact on agriculture in the Central Valley. It was, they said, a complete fiction to claim that delta smelt issues had anything to do with water availability in Southern California.

Federal Actions:

Following the wildfires, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, to develop plans to increase water deliveries to Southern California and the Central Valley. This order aimed to override certain state water management practices to enhance firefighting efforts. He argued that environmental regulations were preventing adequate water supplies from reaching Southern California, thereby exacerbating the wildfire crisis. However, state officials and environmental groups contended that the water supply issues during the wildfires were primarily due to infrastructure challenges and maintenance activities, not environmental regulations.

Clarification on Water Management:

The water supply issues during the wildfires were primarily due to infrastructure challenges and maintenance activities, not a lack of available water. The temporary offline status of federal water pumps for maintenance coincided with the fires, but their restart was a routine operational decision without military involvement. State officials emphasized that water supplies in Southern California remained adequate throughout the crisis.

In summary, Trump’s tweet refers to the Department of Interior, not the military, restarting three pumps that are owned/operated by the federal government, and were online and operating during the fires. They had been offline for three days for maintenance. The resumption of operations returned the situation to the status quo that existed during the fires. It did not send “more water” to Southern California.