President Trump ordered an unprecedented release of water from California's Terminus and Schafer Dams in Tulare County. The move, intended to support wildfire efforts in Southern California, has alarmed local farmers who now face severe irrigation challenges as vital water resources dwindle during the dry summer season.

Farmers in the area are rushing to conserve the freshwater supplies that will be necessary during the dry summer months after President Trump ordered the release of large volumes of water from two dams in California.

On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on orders from Trump, released water from the Schafer Dam at Lake Success and the Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah in Tulare County, San Joaquin Valley. Reportedly, the water flow from the Terminus Dam is now above 1,500 cfs, up from an initial flow of 57 cfs. As of Friday morning, the flow from Lake Success increased from 105 cfas to 990 cfs.

With the caption, "Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons," Trump posted a photo of the stunning water flow that he had recently opened in California to his official X account. He implied that California officials will be able to use the water supply to combat the Southern California wildfires.

He expressed his hope that everyone should celebrate this hard-won triumph and went on to say that if only someone had listened to him six years ago, the fire wouldn't have broken out.

The release of water from the dams was done to guarantee that California has water available to respond to the wildfires, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Gene Pawlik, who responded to a question from the Los Angeles Times. The water release, he continued, was in line with Trump's January 24 executive order that announced emergency steps to supply California's water resources.

The water from the San Joaquin Valley cannot reach Southern California because to various legal and physical obstacles, according to water management in Tulare County who spoke with the Bakersfield, California news site SJV Water.

SJV Water estimated that a costly pumping operation would be required to transport the water from the valley to the California Aqueduct, from whence it would have to traverse hundreds of miles before reaching the Los Angeles area.

Victor Hernandez, the watermaster of the Kaweah River, informed SJV Water that every drop is someone's property, The Raw Story shares.

Hernandez went on to argue that although the reservoir technically belongs to the federal government, the water itself is theirs, and it's unethical for someone to use this water for political gain.

As a result of the abundance of citrus fruits grown in the San Joaquin Valley, including grapefruits, lemons, oranges (Mandarin, Navel, and Valencia), and grapes, the two dams serve as vital water reservoirs for farmers in the region. It may become more challenging to irrigate after the dams release water, said to Dan Vink, Tulare County's water manager.

"A decision to take summer water from local farmers and dump it out of these reservoirs shows a complete lack of understanding of how the system works and sets a very dangerous precedent," Vink warned.