In Congress, he has fought on behalf of the Valley for increased water allocations, pushed back against flawed federal regulations limiting water flows, and secured millions in federal funding for critical projects.
I will continue to advocate for increased water allocations for the Valley.
Occurrences
Evidence
"I will continue to work with State and Federal officials to ensure that the Central Valley Project and State Water Project are operated utilizing real-time adaptive management practices, not outdated assumptions. We have continually invested in expanding and improving upon California’s water storage and conveyance infrastructure. Operations of such infrastructure must reflect these favorable conditions."
The Bureau of Reclamation announced initial 2026 water supply allocations for Central Valley Project water users; allocations were based on reservoir storage, precipitation, snowpack, and rescheduled water from the prior year.
"We are not happy. With substantial snowpack this winter and multiple recent years of strong precipitation that have helped lift California out of drought, the initial allocation is not justified... This administration needs to move forward immediately with higher allocations and bring more water to the Valley like they promised."
Reclamation increased south-of-Delta irrigation allocations from 15% to 20%, and south-of-Delta municipal and industrial allocations from 65% to 70% of historic use, while leaving other amounts unchanged.
The page lists Costa’s recent water-related actions, including the Feb. 26, 2026 response to CVP allocations and the Mar. 18, 2026 statement on $540 million for Central Valley water projects, while stating he has fought on behalf of the Valley for increased water allocations.
The Department of the Interior announced $889 million in Western water infrastructure investments, including $540 million for California water infrastructure projects.
Assessments
Costa’s promise was to continue advocating for increased Valley water allocations, not to guarantee a particular allocation level. The evidence shows he publicly pressed for stronger Central Valley Project allocations on January 20, 2026 and again on February 26, 2026, and his official House water agenda continued to frame increased allocations as an active priority. Reclamation’s March 24, 2026 allocation increase provides some policy movement, but the core promise is satisfied by Costa’s documented ongoing advocacy in office during the same term.
Costa clearly continued advocating for higher Valley water allocations during the term, as shown by his public statements and issue-page activity. There was also a concrete federal outcome in the same term: Bureau of Reclamation increased some 2026 Central Valley Project allocations, including south-of-Delta irrigation and municipal/industrial amounts. However, the evidence does not show that Costa himself secured a full or clearly attributable delivery of broadly increased Valley allocations; the allocation decisions were made by the agency and Costa was still publicly pressing for higher levels. Because the promise was to continue advocating, and some increase occurred while he remained active on the issue, this is best judged as partial rather than full delivery.