Commentary by Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Hume & Contra Costa County Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston
California’s water system depends on a simple principle: everyone plays by the same rules. Assembly Bill 2215 (Calderon) would break that principle and set a troubling precedent for the future of water management in our state. If you take water from a lake, river, stream, or creek, or from underground supplies for a beneficial use, the law California Water Code (Division 2) requires that you have a water right.
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.
Farmers, cities, and local agencies must demonstrate due diligence, prove progress, and show that their projects serve the public interest when seeking extensions. Applicants’ requests are denied by the State Water Board for failing to meet these standards. Yet AB 2215 would allow the state’s largest water project to bypass those same requirements entirely.
Supporters argue this is a technical fix. It’s not. It’s a fundamental change that removes one of the last meaningful state law checks on a controversial project: the Delta Tunnel Conveyance Project. As a reminder, this project is a 45-mile tunnel, 36 feet in diameter, that’s 100-130 feet below the surface of the Delta which allows Sacramento River water to bypass the people and environment of the Delta.
The State Water Board’s review process exists for a reason. It ensures transparency, protects other water rights holders, and balances competing demands in an already over-allocated system. It also requires environmental review and public input—both critical when decisions affect millions of Californians and the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
AB 2215 would sidestep the State Water Board’s permit extension process after DWR already requested it—and reflects a broader pattern. Just last year, a similar proposal attached to the state budget attempted (and failed) to make these same water rights permanent. This bill takes a different path to the same end, allowing DWR to entirely avoid the established process. It would prevent the key regulatory agency charged with balancing human and environmental needs from considering whether DWR has met the legal requirements to extend its rights, entirely removing oversight and accountability.
Equally concerning, the legislation would effectively allow major infrastructure to be built in the next 20 years if the other permitting and financial hurdles can be met without determining how much water DWR could actually redirect into massive new diversions on the Sacramento River.
AB 2215 proponents have claimed the bill is needed to continue operating the State Water Project. This is false. DWR has a Long-Term Operations Plan adopted in October 2024, which is frequently updated. This isn’t about the ability to continue delivering water to areas served by the State Water Project with existing infrastructure. It’s about removing transparency and fairness for one project – the Delta Tunnel.
The Delta supports local communities, farms, and ecosystems through careful water management. Representing five counties and nearly four million residents, we believe decisions must adhere to the law and not bend to powerful water interests. If there are valid issues with permit extensions, the Legislature should address them openly and fairly.
For the sake of our communities, our environment, and the integrity of our water system, AB 2215 should be rejected by the Legislature.
Pat Hume is a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and chair of the Delta Counties Coalition. He also chairs the Delta Conservancy, is a member of the Delta Protection Commission, and serves on several other Boards and Commissions.
Shanelle Scales-Preston is a member of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and is a member of the Delta Counties Coalition. She is a lifelong resident of Pittsburg, and her district stretches from Hercules (SF Bay) to Antioch (Delta).
