Trump Water Releases Did Not Help L.A., Might Hurt Farms, Professor Börk Tells Sierra Nevada Ally

Professor Karrigan Börk spoke to the Sierra Nevada Ally news site on Feb. 21 about the increased water flows, ordered by President Donald Trump, from Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and Schafer Dam at Lake Success.

The Tulare County dams’ increased releases resulted from Trump’s executive order, prompted by the catastrophic Los Angeles fires, to “maximize water delivery to high-need communities” in California. 

“President Trump has claimed that it’s for firefighting, that it’s to protect L.A., but there’s actually no link between these basins and the L.A. area,” Börk told the Ally. “There’s no way to get this water from where it flowed or from where it was coming from, down to L.A.”

As the Ally reports, the big winter releases worry some farmers that there might not be enough water for agricultural use once the hotter, drier months arrive.

“No one’s using this water right now," Börk said. “The farmers don't need the water. So we end up just wasting a bunch of this water that is going to ultimately probably flow to the Tulare Lake Basin and evaporate.”

Professor Börk teaches and researches in the areas of environmental law, natural resources, and administrative law. He graduated with distinction and pro bono distinction from Stanford Law School in 2009 and completed his Ph.D. in Ecology at UC Davis in September 2011. He received the Shapiro Family Award in 2011 as the outstanding Ph.D. graduate in ecology at UC Davis. He clerked for Tenth Circuit Chief Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas Judge Janice Karlin.