SPOKANE, Wash. – Former President and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a promise, that if elected, he will give Californians a new supply of water by diverting water from the Pacific Northwest.
Trump spoke about this at a press conference in Los Angeles two weeks ago. The goal of diverting the water would be to help California’s drought and wildfire crises.
“The water is cut off upstate in the north. Did you know that? The water. In order to protect a certain little, tiny fish called a Smelt. They send millions and millions of gallons of water out to the Pacific Ocean,” Trump said.
The former president never identified the water source he was referring to. But, a Canadian professor believes it’s likely the Columbia River.
The Columbia River starts in British Columbia and runs through Washington and Oregon before ending up in the Pacific.
“You have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the North, with the snow caps in Canada. All pouring down. And they have, essentially, a very large faucet. And you turn the faucet and it takes one day to turn it. It’s massive… And you turn that, and all the water goes aimlessly into the Pacific. And if they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here and right into Los Angeles,” Trump said.
Dr. Brian Henning, the Director of the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water and the Environment, told NonStop Local that a plan like this would have everlasting negative impacts on the ecosystem.
“So much of the middle of Washington state depends upon having irrigated water available for all the beautiful orchards that we have in the middle of the state…Getting our crops to market through the barging system on the Columbia could be affected if we diverted large amounts,” Henning said.
Henning added that there are other factors for why this might not be a viable solution to California’s climate-related problems.
“I would be one to never bet against engineers. If we put our mind to it, I think, theoretically, it’s probable. It would take decades. It would cost, who knows. Many, many billions of dollars…It’s just not really a serious proposal, primarily because it would violate treaty obligations that we have in relation to Canada. It would violate treaty obligations we have to tribes,” Henning said.
Meanwhile, Trump asserted and promised Californians that if he is elected President of the United States in November, providing more water to the state would be a top priority.
“One thing I’m going to do for California, vote for me California, I’m going to give you safety. I’m going to give you a great border. And, I’m going to give you more water than almost anybody has. And the farmers up north are going to be able to use 100% of their land, not just 1% of their land. And the water is going to come all the way down to Los Angeles and you’re going to have more water than you ever saw. And the Smelt, is not making it anyway,” Trump said.
Based on NonStop Local’s research, democratic presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has not addressed any kind of water diversion plan for California.
NonStop Local reached out to both the Trump and Harris campaigns to ask about the issue, but have not heard back.
