The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will spend $540 million on water infrastructure projects in California, much of it to repair aging and sinking canals in the Central Valley.
The largest share, $235 million, will be used to rehabilitate the Delta-Mendota Canal, which carries water to farmlands. An additional $200 million will help continue repairs on the Friant-Kern Canal, another major conduit for water in the valley.
Sinking ground due to heavy groundwater pumping has damaged segments of the Friant-Kern Canal and reduced its capacity.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the announcement that the investments, together with nearly $350 million for water projects in other western states, “strengthen our nation’s water security, modernize aging infrastructure and support the farmers, communities and industries that depend on reliable water supplies.”
California water agencies praised the announcement, saying the funding will improve the water system.
The Interior Department said it also will spend $40 million to begin a plan to raise the height of Shasta Dam — a proposal that growers and water agencies have supported.
Allison Febbo, general manager of Westlands Water District, said the plan to enlarge Shasta Dam “represents an important step toward advancing a long-overdue investment in water supply reliability.”
Shasta Lake is California’s largest manmade reservoir, and part of the federally managed Central Valley Project. The plan to raise the dam and expand the reservoir is strongly opposed by tribes, fishing advocates and environmental groups.
“The president is very close to a tiny group of Central Valley growers,” said Barry Nelson, an advisor with the Golden State Salmon Assn., a nonprofit group. “Raising this dam is for a couple hundred rich farmers. It does virtually nothing for California’s urban residents.”
Enlarging the reservoir, he said, would be “disastrously bad for salmon,” harming the environment downstream from the dam and hitting the state’s fishing industry.
The Winnemem Wintu Tribe has also been fighting the proposal for years. Gary Mulcahy, the tribe’s government liaison, said the plan to raise the dam 18.5 feet would flood sacred sites.
It also could end up costing $3 billion to $5 billion, a high price for the additional water it might yield, Mulcahy said. “It’s a terrible proposition for taxpayers. It’s a terrible proposition for the state.”
The Trump administration’s announcement of a large sum for water projects is significant but not unprecedented. The Biden administration in 2024 announced nearly $850 million to improve water infrastructure in western states in 2024. That round of federal funding also included $204 million for repairs of the Delta-Mendota Canal.
The additional $235 million will help address land subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal and restore its water-carrying capacity for farms and communities, said Federico Barajas, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority.
The funds come from the “Big Beautiful Bill” that President Trump signed last year.
Barajas thanked members of Congress including Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) for pushing for the bill’s passage.
