Maven’s Notebook • Commentary by Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Hume & Contra Costa County Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston

At its core, AB 2215 gives the Department of Water Resources (DWR) a special exemption from regulation by the State Water Resources Control Board. Instead of requiring DWR to justify extending its water rights permits through an established public process, this bill would ignore these rules and push those deadlines out to 2046—decades after they originally expired in 2009.

No other water user in California gets this kind of treatment, and DWR itself hasn’t asked for this legislative fix. This bill is sponsored by the State Water Contractors.

Maven’s Notebook • Delta Counties Coalition

The Delta Counties Coalition (DCC) Chair Supervisor Pat Hume issued the following statement in response to the Administration’s announcement regarding the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) receiving Biological Opinions from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

Maven’s Notebook • Guest Contributor

Following its failed attempt to obtain judicial approval of its first Delta Tunnel bond financing plan, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has now dismissed its second “Validation Action,” by which it had sought judicial approval of its second Tunnel financing scheme.

Maven’s Notebook • Delta Counties Coalition

California can meet its water challenges without sacrificing the Delta and the communities that depend on it. We urge the Administration to work collaboratively with local leaders to pursue solutions that are more balanced, more resilient, and more reflective of today’s water realities—not continue to promote a divisive tunnel proposal that could negatively impact many Californians.

Maven’s Notebook • Cal Matters

In what Gov. Gavin Newsom hailed as a major milestone, his $20 billion Delta tunnel largely cleared another chokepoint last week — but it still faces obstacles of a different magnitude.

Maven’s Notebook • CA Water Impact Network

In recent testimony before the State Water Board, the General Manager of the Zone 7 Water Agency—which serves the Silicon Valley suburbs of Dublin, San Ramon, and Livermore—stated that her agency is continuing to pursue the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) because it is “moving forward” through the regulatory process.

Maven’s Notebook • California Water Impact Network

The courts, project costs, and political realities are combining to sink the DCP…

Maven’s Notebook • Restore the Delta

Groups warn the project ignores state law, threatens important Tribal cultural sites, and the health of the Delta ecosystem….

Maven’s Notebook • Delta Counties Coalition

Court decision is now final, protecting ratepayers, the Delta, and the rule of law…

Ashley Castaneda • Restore the Delta

SACRAMENTO, CA — A coalition of Tribes and environmental advocates has submitted a letter to the California Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife opposing AB 2215. 

Mavens Notebook • Lois Henry, SJV Water

Financial support for the controversial Delta Conveyance Project has been eroding among Kern County agricultural water districts over the past year and lost another significant chunk when the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District opted recently to cut its contribution by nearly 97% – from $4.6 million down to $146,000.

Mavens Notebook• State Water Board

This procedural ruling responds to the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition’s (DTEC) November 21, 2025 evidentiary objections to exhibits submitted by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and related testimony by Anecita Agustinez, Kristina Reese, and Susan Lassell (DWR’s witnesses). 

Mavens Notebook• Michelle Paul, California Farm Water Coalition

From the moment California’s earliest residents called the vast, fertile soils of California’s Central Valley home, efforts began to solve one of the state’s oldest challenges: harnessing the water.

Mavens Notebook• Harrison Tasoff

For half the world’s population, the water in their drinking glasses comes from below them. Groundwater also supplies 40% of global irrigation projects.

Mavens Notebook• State Water Board

The State Water Resources Control Board today released for public comment a draft water right decision and associated permit for a new reservoir located approximately 65 miles northwest of Sacramento.

Mavens Notebook • Alan Riquelmy, Courthouse News Service

Attorneys and officials opposed to a massive California water project pleaded their case Thursday to an oversight panel, arguing point by point how the Delta Conveyance Project failed to meet specified criteria.

The Bee • Lia Russel and Chaewon Chung

Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new version of the plan to create a 45-mile tunnel to divert water from the Sacramento River and route it under the Delta. By California Department of Water Resources

Mavens Notebook •

• Early 2026 storms bring heavy rain to the western US, raising flooding risk in Northern California

• California appellate court upholds bar on revenue bonds for Delta Program

Mavens Notebook •

Sacramento, CA – On December 31, 2025, the Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District affirmed a trial court decision against the State Department of Water Resources (DWR), which sought to validate bond resolutions and revenue pledges to finance DWR’s controversial Delta Tunnel project known as the Delta Conveyance Project

Mavens Notebook • Delta Stewardship Council

The following parties have appealed the California Department of Water Resources Certification of Consistency (C20257) for the Delta Conveyance Project, which was submitted to the Delta Stewardship Council on October 17, 2025.