Los Banos, CA (December 9, 2025) — Federal officials under the Trump administration have adopted a revised operations plan for the Central Valley Project that is intended to increase the amount of water exported from the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta to farms and communities in the San Joaquin Valley. According to reporting by the Los Angeles Times, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum described the decision as part of a broader effort to improve water reliability, and federal documents referenced in the article state that the plan is designed to maximize water deliveries while maintaining protections for listed fish species. Water agencies cited in the report have said the changes could result in an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 additional acre-feet of water being delivered south through the federal system. For communities near major conveyance infrastructure, including the Delta-Mendota Canal that runs alongside Los Banos, any change in federal pumping operations is directly relevant because these conveyance routes serve agriculture throughout the region.
The plan has also prompted objections from California officials and environmental organizations. The Los Angeles Times reports that state fisheries regulators have raised concerns that increased pumping may negatively affect sensitive Delta species, including Chinook salmon, steelhead, and delta smelt, all of which have experienced documented population declines over multiple decades. The article notes that state authorities have also warned that modifying federal pumping rules could create operational conflicts with the State Water Project, which delivers water to other regions of California. Federal officials, as reported, have maintained that the revised plan relies on scientific analysis and includes biological protections, while state agencies have stated they do not agree that the federal scientific review sufficiently protects species.
At this stage, the Los Angeles Times confirms that the plan has been formally adopted by the federal government, while the State of California is reviewing its options in response. Because Los Banos is located within a region served by the Central Valley Project, any operational changes may affect water deliveries to local agricultural districts, though the exact volume and timing of those deliveries will depend on how the federal plan is implemented. The Los Angeles Times article does not provide projections specific to Los Banos or Merced County, and no guaranteed local outcomes are established in the publicly available reporting. The primary verified fact is that federal pumping rules have changed, state officials disagree with the scientific basis for the change, and the effects will depend on forthcoming regulatory and operational decisions.
