{"id":491587,"date":"2026-10-10T13:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/491587\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T13:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T13:44:09","slug":"what-would-ca-governor-candidates-hilton-and-becerra-do-about-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/491587\/","title":{"rendered":"What would CA governor candidates Hilton and Becerra do about water?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rachel Becker<\/a>, CalMatters<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by CalMatters<\/a>. Sign up<\/a> for their newsletters.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s next governor must reckon with a state of extremes \u2014\u00a0where weather swings from drought to deluge, and water divides the land of backyard swimming pools from places where grandmothers fear to bathe babies<\/a> in water from the tap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Climate change is raising the stakes,\u00a0amplifying the cycles of wet to dry and fueling conflicts between water haves and have-nots that have defined California for generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next governor \u2014\u00a0Republican Steve Hilton or Democrat Xavier Becerra \u2014 will inherit these challenges, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Groundwater overuse and sinking land in the state\u2019s agricultural heartland continue to jeopardize both water supply<\/a> and delivery systems. The fishing industry is cratering<\/a> and farmers feel so squeezed that some are planting solar panels<\/a> instead of crops.<\/p>\n

And, hundreds of thousands<\/a> of Californians still lack access to safe, affordable water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From this shared reality, the two candidates\u2019 strategies diverge: Hilton is outspoken about his plans to clearcut environmental regulations in order to build more ways to store and move water to farms and cities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Becerra leans on his history as attorney general, the legal arm in California\u2019s first-term fights against President Donald Trump. But Becerra offers no specific proposals on water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(Becerra) knows that there is not a whole lot of upside for him in coming out with detailed plans ahead of the election,\u201d said Max Gomberg, an independent water consultant and former climate and conservation manager for the State Water Resources Control Board, who resigned in protest<\/a> of the Newsom administration\u2019s water policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause no matter what he says, someone will pop up to criticize it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

More is more<\/p>\n

Republican Hilton\u2019s water strategy is: more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More water for farms. More storage. More desalination. More water recycling. More of the state\u2019s money, spent to cut expensive water bills and build more infrastructure. Less of the rulebooks for protecting endangered species from California\u2019s water delivery systems \u2014 which he says get in the way of more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can and should have abundant water in California, and there’s no reason that we don’t other than bad policy and mismanagement,\u201d Hilton told CalMatters. \u201cYou get to abundant supply with a much more aggressive plan for building and running capture, storage, distribution of water in all its forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\/\"\/Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks during a forum at Fresno State in Fresno on April 1, 2026. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters<\/p>\n

Hilton, political strategist and former host of The Next Revolution on Fox News, traded the United Kingdom for California permanently in 2012 and settled in the wealthy Bay Area enclave of Atherton. In 2024, he wrote a water policy strategy with Edward Ring<\/a> of the libertarian think tank California Policy Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The plan, titled \u201cAchieving Water Abundance,\u201d<\/a> estimates that making abundant water a reality could take as much as $150 billion, assuming regulatory reforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hilton and Ring proposed a combination of funding sources, including a 2% allocation from the state\u2019s general fund gleaned by \u201ccutting wasteful and ineffective programs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Water experts are skeptical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRule 1. There is plenty of water, there is no more cheap water,\u201d said Greg Gartrell<\/a>, retired water manager at a Northern California water district and now an adjunct fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. \u201cThe only cheap water is water that someone else pays for and gives to you below cost.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hilton is bullish on building. That includes Sites Reservoir<\/a> \u2014 the Northern California reservoir expected to cost between $6.2 and $6.8 billion<\/a> that\u2019s intended to store Sacramento River water to send south. The project is closer to<\/a> clearing a major permitting hurdle after pressure from Newsom and other backers to relax limits aimed at protecting fish and others relying on the river\u2019s water, the San Francisco Chronicle reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hilton also backs the Trump administration\u2019s controversial proposal<\/a> to build Shasta dam higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The powerful Westlands Water District, the nation\u2019s largest farm water supplier and a major player in California\u2019s $60 billion agricultural industry, has long supported both<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is good to hear that Mr. Hilton is considering water infrastructure, and really already considering water projects,\u201d said Allison Febbo, Westlands general manager. Neither candidate, Febbo said, has met with Westlands staff and the district is not permitted to make endorsements or contributions to campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opponents to the reservoir project<\/a> and dam raise, including fishing and environmental groups as well as the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, fear that further loss of river flows will harm iconic salmon and other species already imperiled under federal and state water management<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though Hilton said he sees the salmon industry as \u201chugely important, just as important as the ag industry,\u201d his goal, he said, is to \u201crebalance the system in favor of agriculture and domestic use away from the very, very narrow focus on what they call environmental use, but actually it’s much narrower than that \u2014 it\u2019s a couple of fish species.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plummeting population numbers forced the cancellation<\/a> of salmon fishing for three years in a row during Newsom\u2019s tenure as governor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The one thing Hilton\u2019s determined not to build is the Delta tunnel, Newsom\u2019s version of a decades-old plan to route water around \u2014 rather than through \u2014 the fragile Delta in order to send more water south. That, for Hilton, is a building project too far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m totally against it,\u201d Hilton said. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous, and unnecessary.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Abundance: a bipartisan buzzword<\/p>\n

Frontrunner<\/a> candidate Becerra<\/a> \u2014 former state assemblymember, congressman, California attorney general, and U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services \u2014 is much more cautious about making promises.<\/p>\n

\""A\"Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra speaks on stage during The Western Growers California Gubernatorial Candidate Forum at Fresno State in Fresno on April 1, 2026. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters<\/p>\n

Unlike Hilton, Becerra has not detailed water plans and has no specific water policies on his campaign website. He refused multiple requests from CalMatters for an interview on water issues. CalMatters eventually emailed his campaign the same list of questions that Hilton responded to over the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After several follow-ups, spokesperson Jonathan Underland responded:\u00a0<\/p>\n

“As governor, Becerra will bring everyone to the table to modernize our water infrastructure, guarantee safe, affordable drinking water for every Californian, give farms and businesses the reliable supply they need to grow, and prepare for the wet and dry years ahead.”<\/p>\n

Becerra\u2019s is an audible silence in a state where 83% of Democrats, 77% of Independents, and 67% of Republicans say they are more likely to support a candidate who \u201cprioritizes improving California\u2019s water reliability and affordability,\u201d according to polling earlier this summer<\/a> by the Association of California Water Agencies and FM3 Research.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, Becerra has said he\u2019ll listen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI will tell you, as governor, when you’re at the table sitting with me, I will listen to what you think we need to do,\u201d he told the audience at an April forum<\/a> in Fresno hosted by powerful agricultural groups<\/a>. \u201cBecause water is more precious than gold. Let’s make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some water experts say Becerra\u2019s deliberative approach is refreshing on an issue as complex as California\u2019s water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of a governor who wants to think about things and talk to everyone \u2014 that’s music to my ears,\u201d said Felicia Marcus<\/a>, who led the State Water Resources Control Board under Gov. Jerry Brown. \u201cIt’s something you want a governor to do even after they’re elected, you know, versus being fully baked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others are more cynical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecerra’s right. It would be great if everybody was at the table,\u201d said Peter Gleick<\/a>, climate scientist and co-founder of the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank. \u201cBut what’s being served?\u201d<\/p>\n

Where Becerra is light on specifics, he\u2019s deep on history. As attorney general, he sued the Trump administration more than 120 times<\/a>. His lawsuits beat back<\/a> a Westlands-assisted effort to raise Shasta dam<\/a>, and contested<\/a> a Trump proposal affecting water delivery systems that state officials feared would harm salmon and other species.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"""\/\"\/Shasta Dam in Shasta County on July 22, 2026. Photo by Salvador Ochoa for CalMatters<\/p>\n

At their only one-on-one debate, Hilton described this track record as Becerra \u201csuing to stop our farmers getting the water that they need.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Becerra fired back: \u201cDonald Trump was trying to impose his standards on California when it comes to water infrastructure. We have a right to make sure water in California is regulated by California.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For all of Becerra\u2019s and Hilton\u2019s barbs, though, they echo each other in some ways.<\/p>\n

Both agreed at the Fresno forum during the primary election that protecting groundwater is important and both agreed the state\u2019s landmark policy to rein in agricultural overpumping may be overburdened by bureaucracy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But where Hilton said the answer is more surface water and that \u201cit\u2019s all insane. It all needs to be cut back and shut down wherever possible,\u201d Becerra said rules are necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not sure how some folks who want to get rid of our rules that help us manage groundwater believe that we can do the right thing without some guidance. I agree that maybe there’s too much regulation \u2026 and we have to trim it back. But let’s be honest: we need groundwater.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Hilton, Becerra, too, has centered his limited public remarks on the promise of abundance \u2014\u00a0predictable supplies for farms, conservation, groundwater recharge and wastewater recycling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to do a far better job of storage, of conveyance, and we have to do a far better job of conservation and distribution,\u201d Becerra at the Fresno forum. \u201cWe have enough water in California. It’s making the best use of it, and the state has an obligation to be the big investor to make it work for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Hilton, though, Becerra\u2019s version of \u2018more\u2019 may include the deeply controversial Delta tunnel, called the Delta Conveyance Project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Questioned about it at a January forum hosted by California Environmental Voters and others<\/a>, Becerra nodded to ecological concerns tunnel opponents raise, but added, \u201cWe should never say no to anything until we\u2019ve examined it completely \u2026 everything should be on the table, and everyone should be at the table.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The history of more<\/p>\n

\u2018More\u2019 is a strategy that California governors have tried before, over and over, with mixed results. But none have moved water at the scale \u2014\u00a0or with the hubris \u2014 of Gov. Edmund G. \u201cPat\u201d Brown<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, in a feat of nature-defying engineering, Brown spearheaded construction of the State Water Project to carry Northern California river water to Central and Southern California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted this to be a monument to me,\u201d Brown said of the project, which now funnels water through 705 miles of aqueducts and canals to two-thirds of California\u2019s population and Central Valley farmland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The emphasis, noted Norris Hundley \u2014 one of California\u2019s great chroniclers of water \u2014 was Brown\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the lengths California\u2019s leaders have taken to move water from rivers and aquifers to cities and farms have consequences. A dying Delta. Undrinkable water. Disappearing species. Sinking earth.<\/p>\n

\"""\/\"\/<\/p>\n

\"""\/\"\/
\nFirst: Low water levels at Shasta Lake on April 25, 2022. Last: Boat trailers and docks sit empty in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta near Bay Point on May 19, 2024. Photos by Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr and Loren Elliott for CalMatters<\/p>\n

In his 1952 novel East of Eden, John Steinbeck described how the turning of California\u2019s great water wheel drove out memories of what came before: \u201cAnd it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in this new California, where the wheel turns wild and fast, Californians remember both. The state is recovering from its driest three-year stretch on record, followed by catastrophic floods<\/a>. The Colorado River\u2019s massive reservoirs plunged to record lows this past summer. Now, California is on the brink of an El Ni\u00f1o winter, and the rainfall and flooding it could bring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The question is whether the next governor is ready to manage what\u2019s coming. Gleick isn\u2019t sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHere’s the problem: The problem is what we’ve always done for California water no longer works,\u201d Gleick said. \u201cAnd no governor has been able to move beyond incremental approaches, incremental changes to past policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on CalMatters<\/a> and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives<\/a> license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Rachel Becker, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California\u2019s next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,35072,76068,17382,646,3707],"class_list":["post-491587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-election-2026","tag-governor-race-2026","tag-steve-hilton","tag-water","tag-xavier-becerra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}