President Donald Trump is asserting more federal government control over water management decisions in California and ordering US officials to override local authorities, casting the steps as necessary to boost the state’s firefighting capabilities.

Trump has signed an executive order seeking to circumvent federal and state laws dealing with California's water system in an effort to provide the southern part of the state with necessary water resources to fight wildfires.

A new executive order instructs federal leaders to “immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries.”