President signs memorandum on reliable water, aims to deliver more water to Valley farmers

President Trump is diving into California's contentious water debate, siding with agriculture interests just weeks ahead of the mid-term elections.

The Presidential Memorandum signed Friday, reduces regulatory burdens and aims to deliver more water to Valley farmers.

Several Valley Republicans backed Mister Trump during the monumental announcement including Congressman David Valadao of Hanford.

The congressman says this executive action has the potential to bring over a million football sized fields of water to the state.

"For decades, burdensome federal regulations have made it extremely difficult and expensive to build and maintain federal water projects," said President Trump.

On Friday, Trump pledged to slash environmental regulations.

He ordered his staff to remove unnecessary burdens and to increase water delivery to farmers.

The memo sets a swift new timeline for biological reviews.

"There is a little bit of a misconception that this water is only for agriculture," said Congressman Valadao. "There are communities on the west side that reply wholly on water from the delta."

While some viewed the announcement as an effort to help endangered incumbents, local Democrats say this memorandum needs to be celebrated.

"I'm less concerned about who gets credit than getting something done. And this falls under the category of getting something done," said Congressman Jim Costa.

The directive will have little immediate effect.

But local Republicans are hopeful it will generate up to 1.2 million acre-feet of water.

"This is a very big deal for the central valley, a very big deal we have been overlooked for a very long time in the Central part of California," said Congressman Valadao.