By Don Wright, Water Wrights
The Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley met in person at Fresno State University’s Jordan Agricultural Research Center and on Zoom on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. We’re beginning to hear more and more about the “Water Blueprint” here in the San Joaquin Valley. It’s a volunteer organization working to identify and prioritize plans and projects that will help secure better water supplies for all the people of the San Joaquin Valley. It’s a fairly inclusive bunch. Ag interests are of course represented and those interests include rural Disadvantaged Communities, DACs, environmental concerns.
The big take away for this meeting was the Blueprint adopting a proposal on how to implement Executive Orders and both Trump and Newsom Administrations’ concern for a more equitable distribution of water throughout the state.
The Meeting
Things got started at 9:00am when Chairman Eddie Ocampo called the meeting to order and roll was also called. There were only 14 people in the room with many more online. There was a quorum and visitors and first time attendees were welcomed to introduce themselves. Doreen Dyt, Roger Isom and many others including Michael Boccadoro.
The agenda was approved as was the consent calendar which included the minutes. The treasurer’s report was next. Kassy Chauhan wasn’t able to attend so Vice Chair Geoff Vanden Heuvel gave that report. And it was approved.
Action Items
J. Scott Petersen deferred the legislative report to Beth Olhasso. She said AB 1466 by Hart, Santa Barbara, did pass the Assembly and it needs amendments. It is another effort by the legislature to rewrite the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in their own image. This bill would gum up the work of Groundwater Sustainability Plans by changing how adjudication is prioritized.
Olhasso referred to Diane Papan’s AB 1146 trying to criminalize dam releases and it looks like the coalition opposed to this will be able to keep it from passing the state Senate. Petersen said he recommends withholding unless amended. Vanden Heuvel said even with amendments why would the Blueprint not flat out oppose any bill that would give the state even the slightest toehold on federal dam operations. That won the day. They wouldn’t include my suggestion condemning political theater for the sake of political theater.
Implementation
The big item of the day for many of us was the proposal by the Milk Producers Council. Vanden Heuvel works for the MPC so he introduced the request letter to adopt support for implementing President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14181establishing stakeholder priorities for federal action and leadership. Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-16-25 is trying to attain similar results.
Vanden Heuvel asked the question – How do we measure the success of these orders? The following proposal is the answer:
REQUEST FOR BLUEPRINT CONSIDERATION AND SUPPORT
To: Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley
From: Milk Producers Council
Date: June 1, 2025
Subject: Implementing Executive Order 14181 – Establishing Stakeholder Priorities for Federal Action and Leadership
Overview
President Trump’s January 24, 2025, Executive Order 14181 on California Water marks a historic opportunity to restore reliability to the San Joaquin Valley’s water supply. The directive instructs federal agencies to take immediate and comprehensive steps to increase water deliveries, modernize regulations, and accelerate infrastructure investment.
As stakeholders, it is important that we define the benchmarks for success. Based on current supply shortfalls, system capacity, and regulatory opportunities, we believe the federal response should target an increase of 9 million acre-feet per year (MAF/yr) in available water supply to Central and Southern California by 2040—with measurable progress beginning now. (See planning target in SB72 Caballero – Water Code SEC 5. Section 10004.6 (f))
Implementation Priorities
To translate the Executive Order into results, federal agencies must move swiftly on the following priorities:
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- Update CVP and SWP Operational Rules (Target: +1 MAF/yr)
Federal agencies must modernize the operational criteria governing the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP). Existing biological opinions, flow constraints, and outdated operational rules limit the ability to capture and deliver water even during wet years.
Specific steps should include:
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- Real-time operational adjustments under revised biological opinions
- Rebalancing inflow/outflow and environmental flow objectives
- Coordinated export scheduling and flexible reservoir management
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These changes alone have the potential to yield at least 1 MAF/yr in additional deliveries.
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- Eliminate Nonessential Regulatory Barriers (Target: +300,000 AF/yr)
Federal agencies should immediately review and revise flow or ratio-based constraints that exceed legal obligations under the Endangered Species Act. Many of these conditions were layered on through policy discretion and are not required to avoid species jeopardy. Removing these unnecessary constraints could restore 300,000 acre-feet per year in system flexibility and deliveries.
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- Accelerate Permitting for Storage and Conveyance Projects
The Order provides authority for agencies to fast-track infrastructure through coordinated reviews and NEPA streamlining. Priority projects should include:
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- Surface and groundwater storage
- Aquifer recharge capacity
- Delta and regional conveyance upgrades
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A federal implementation schedule with milestones and financing strategy should be established by mid-2026.
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- Ensure Adequate Resources and Interagency Coordination
Effective implementation will require:
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- Dedicated staff within BOR, USFWS, and USGS
- Clear coordination across Interior, Commerce, EPA, and CEQ
- Regular progress reporting and accountability to stakeholders
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The Role of Federal Leadership
While policy direction is vital, implementation will depend on the personnel chosen to lead it. The Trump administration must appoint individuals with a deep understanding of California’s water systems—people who know how to navigate the legal, operational, and political terrain.
Key federal positions should be filled by leaders who:
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- Have real-world experience managing CVP/SWP coordination
- Understand state and federal regulatory conflicts
- Can drive interagency reform while protecting supply reliability
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Without this level of leadership in place, even a well-crafted Executive Order risks delay, misapplication, or failure.
Conclusion
This is a once-in-a-generation moment to realign federal water policy with the needs of California’s most productive agricultural region as well as support a flourishing economy and population. The Executive Order provides the opening—but stakeholders must now define the target, demand implementation, and insist on competent leadership.
We urge all agencies and allied organizations to align behind a shared goal: 9 MAF/year of additional water supply by 2040, starting with urgent regulatory and infrastructure actions that can yield gains in the next two years.
Vanden Heuvel gave a very good line of reasoning as to why the points in the letter are needed. Jason Phillips said at this time there is no one in Washington DC minding the situation in California. He said the Executive Order is a great opportunity to reform the situation in this state but the Administration needs to see clearly the goals and how to achieve them.
Casey Creamer said not getting Phillips appointed to the post of Bureau Commissioner was a disappointment. Creamer said Phillips already has the support of California’s Congressional Delegation and he believes Phillips should be the one to connect with Trump’s Commissioner nominee Ted Cooke and the Administration.
Phillips said he’s willing to help but to be aware, until Cooke is confirmed by the Senate he won’t be engaging.
Kathy Mohan staffer for Senator Alex Padilla said to the folks in Washington all Western water is inner mixed.
Vanden Heuvel said there won’t be an acting Bureau Commissioner for another six-months and we don’t have time for that. He moved to adopt the letter with the provision the Executive Director can do some editing as needed.
Austin Ewell, Blueprint Executive Director said the buck needs to start here and until a Commissioner is installed there is an interim leader at the Bureau, David Palumbo. Phillips said this effort will need to be consistent and ongoing for the rest of Trump’s term.
The board adopted the provisions of the MPC letter as the official Blueprint position.
Farmer to Farmer
Next, Sarah Woolf spoke on the Great Valley Farm Water Partnership’s request for sediment removal in the Delta for improved flows through the South Delta. This has huge water supply implications for the entire state south of the Delta. The Army Corps of Engineers has say over this matter.
Mike Wade said the Farm Water Coalition is considering its support and said he supports it personally.
Vanden Heuvel said sediment removal from the Delta was stopped 40-years ago because someone thought it would be good for the environment. However, as the channels have filled the cold water salmon like to swim in was on the bottom of the flow. The warm water preferring predatory striped bass would swim at the top. There is less cold water now and this plays a major part in the decline of salmon. Also, Vanden Heuvel said Delta Watermaster Jay Siegler is on board with this.
The next item was extending the Hall Mark Group contract and that was a no brainer for the board. Also the Blueprint’s 2024 tax returns were approved.
Reports
Ewell reported the MOU with Metropolitan Water District and the Blueprint is going through the motions of legal council review. As this MOU is enacted more water banking and recharge opportunities will be realized.
Petersen told the board the Education Work Group wasn’t able to vote due to a lack of quorum. There was a request to support the fight against the invasive Golden Mussel. They’ve made their way from the South Delta to the O’Neal Forebay below San Luis Reservoir where a 50-gallon drum’s worth of the solenogasters were scraped off the dock. The Blueprint has been asked to sign on to the efforts to allow the same enforcement against Golden as now exists for the Quagga and Zebra mussels. This requires legislation and the California Fish & Game Commission isn’t known for its speed.
Wade said the Communications Workgroup meeting was led by Rachel Glauser and the result is to send out “E-Blasts” on a weekly basis. He’ll help coordinate those efforts with West Coast Advisors. The request was made to please send ideas. Daniel Hartwig suggested having a Truth Social account added to the Blueprint’s outreach efforts.
Public Outreach
West Coast Advisors’ Boccadoro said the weekly e-blast was his idea and he’s committed to moving it along. He then said we’re in the second half of the legislative season in Sacramento. The budget deadline was passed last week but it won’t be the final budget, there is a hard, July 1st deadline of the end of the fiscal year. But things will be bubbling along budget-wise all year.
Boccadoro said the “House or Origin” has passed which means all the senate bills and assembly bills have been moved to the other branch of the legislator. He said it is unfortunate many Southern California elected officials aren’t completely onboard with the state’s water needs.
CAP
Woolf said the Collaborative Action Program met and discussed funding for water projects that include the dredging in the Delta. They are working with state agencies on Prop 4 funding. There will be a more in depth discussion at the next CAP meeting about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Jase Trovao reported on the Unified Water Plan. He said a presentation by Stantec was schedule today but due to jury duty that was cancelled.
This Regular Meeting Was Interrupted
The regular meeting was put on hold while Vanden Heuvel chaired the Advocacy Fund Board portion of the meeting. And that lasted about a minute – minute and a half.
We Now Return to the Regularly Scheduled Meeting
All the agendas were checked off as dealt with. No one wanted to stay any longer. The meeting adjourned at 10:23am and that was that.
