Then Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez speaks at a press conference in 2022. Photo by Ben Hensley

Luis Chavez, newly sworn supervisor for Fresno County’s District 3, said Tuesday he was encouraged by President Donald Trump’s executive action on California’s water system.

In a memo to the Commerce and Interior secretaries Monday, Trump directed federal agencies to “immediately restart” the work of his first administration on the environmental reviews used to determine the impact of California’s water infrastructure on threatened fish species.

The goal is to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta southward to the Central Valley and Southern California — a cause long championed by the region’s growers and opposed by conservationists.

Chavez said his District 3 district, which covers central and south Fresno, has the highest number of food processing plants, packing houses, dairy and poultry processing facilities and other ag related businesses.

Chavez said Trump’s executive action is encouraging, and he’s hopeful policymakers at the state and county level can work together to increase the water supply.

“At a time when food prices have been steadily increasing, we have an opportunity to help lower food prices for our region and nation, by allowing one of the most fertile agricultural regions in the world to reach its maximum potential,” Chavez said in a statement.

Five years ago, California sued the Trump administration over its efforts to divert more water from flowing into the Pacific Ocean, saying it would push endangered populations of delta smelt, chinook salmon and steelhead trout to extinction.

Chavez said Trump’s action creates a “window of opportunity” to manage the state’s water supply for the benefit of all Californians.

“We don’t have to revert to the adage of picking ‘fish over people,’ but rather focus on the best approach and balance the interest of the environment, people, wildlife and our critical food supply,” Chavez said.

The administration maintains its proposed changes will allow for more flexibility in water deliveries. It would change the way California’s state and federal water systems are managed, which has been subject to decades of legal and political fights.

Just last week, state and federal water regulators ordered reductions in water export pumping from the delta, leading to an estimated loss of 12,000-20,000 acre-feet of water over a few days to protect the smelt.

Growers have long questioned whether such efforts are effective in protecting these species. A statement from Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley, a coalition of water users and stakeholders, said such pumping curtailments hurt California communities as the state faces a dry January with above-average reservoir levels.

“While short term benefits can be attributed to water supply curtailments, such as helping some delta smelt survive into June, the effects of climate change have raised the temperature of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to a point where most credible science indicates that no delta smelt survive the hotter temperatures now experienced annually in the region, according to the Water Blueprint statement.

Austin Ewell, Water Blueprint’s executive director, served as a deputy assistant secretary for water and science in the Interior department during Trump’s first term.

Trump has long been critical of California’s water system, and renewed that attack last week in discussing the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area, where he plans to visit Friday.