[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CALIFORNIA'S WATER SUPPLY

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I am going to report on the situation of 
California's water supply, which really is the Nation's water supply, 
as so much of our food source comes from California.
  Mr. Speaker, 90 to 95 percent of our specialty crops--tomatoes, 
pistachios, almonds, walnuts--come from California if we are allowed to 
grow them.
  Water supply is a core part of that.
  We have a situation in northern California where each year it is a 
challenge to refill our lakes. Lake Oroville holds 3.5 million acre-
feet; Lake Shasta, 4.5; Trinity Lake, 2.5 million--which is a total of 
about 10.5 million acre-feet. That is a lot of water.
  We have the potential to build Sites Reservoir, another 1.5 million 
acre-feet. We could raise Shasta Dam and gain another 600,000 acre-feet 
for a total of 12.5 million acre-feet.
  Yet, we aren't allowed to store that water. There is so much water 
now being devoted for other purposes that aren't for people, that are 
not for hydroelectric power. Indeed, they are tearing out hydroelectric 
dams in my district right now at a time when we want to go green with 
more CO2-free power and electrify everything.
  We have to do much better with corralling and saving our water supply 
for people's needs in California so it benefits the whole country.

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