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From Congress McClintock E-News May 2015
House Adopts McClintock Amendment to Stop Federal Agencies from Purchasing Scarce California Water for Fish
The House of Representatives has adopted an amendment by Congressman McClintock to forbid federal agencies from buying up scarce water during California’s catastrophic drought in order to release it into rivers to meet environmental requirements. The amendment was adopted as part of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations Act.
Presenting the amendment to the House, the Congressman noted that despite extreme drought conditions, the Bureau of Reclamation h as continued to release tens of thousands of acre-feet of water because of environmental mandates. “These purchases have exacerbated an already perilous scarcity of water while at the same time forcing the price of remaining water supplies even higher,” he said.
The Congressman’s House floor statement in support of the measure:
Water Am endment
House Chambers, Washington, D.C.
May 1, 2015
Hydrologists tell us California is facing the worst drought in 1,200 years. With the rain season officially over, our snow pack is just 3% of normal and many reservoirs are already drawn down perilously. Californians are now threatened with draconian fines if they take too long in the shower.
This amendment forbids the Bureau of Reclamation from purchasing scarce water in California in the midst of this catastrophic drought for the purpose of dumping it into rivers to adjust water temperatures to nudge baby fish to swim to the ocean.
As ridiculous as this sounds, that’s exactly what the Bureau of Reclamation has been doing throughout this drought. It is using money taken from family’s taxes in order to purchase water that’s desperately needed by these same families and then literally dumping it down the drain in front of them. This exacerbates an already perilous scarcity of water, while forcing the price of our remaining supplies even higher. It also makes a mockery of the sacrifices that every Californian is making to stretch every drop of water in their homes and it undermines the moral authority of the government to demand further conservation from the people when it is squandering water so outrageously itself.
