Water Commission Meetings
Next Commission Meeting - May 21, 2025
Alternate YouTube Stream: when available
Current Meeting Agenda
Spanish Version
Previous Meeting Archives - Since August 2020
Groundwater Trading Workshops
The California Water Commission held special public workshops on October 28 & 29, 2021 related to Groundwater Trading issues. You can view the recording of those workshops by clicking on the link below.
The California Water Commission held special public workshops on October 28 & 29, 2021 related to Groundwater Trading issues. You can view the recording of those workshops by clicking on the link below.
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Regional Water Conveyance Workshops
The California Water Commission held special public workshops in December, 2020 and January, 2021 related to Regional Water Conveyance issues. You can view the recording of those workshops by clicking on the link below. |
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Drought Workshops
The Water Resilience Portfolio (Portfolio), guided by Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-10-19, calls for a “set of actions to meet California water needs through the 21stcentury.” Within the Portfolio, Action 26.3 relates to protecting communities and species during drought. Being able to endure the next severe drought will be dependent upon making smart, preemptive water management decisions during non-drought years. The Commission, at the request of the Secretaries for Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and Food and Agriculture, is gaining a wide perspective about the potential strategies for managing drought in order to develop a set of investments and policies that would better position the State to prepare for and respond to drought (more information is available at https://cwc.ca.gov/Water-Resilience-Portfolio). Commission staff has interviewed experts from both the United States and abroad, convened a working group of agencies and organizations with special knowledge and interest in the topic, and, with this input, developed a set of preliminary drought strategies. The Commission has completed three public workshops to hear from interested parties about their views on potential actions the State should be considering. |
Commission Members
Fern Steiner, Chair
Fern Steiner, of San Diego, has been an Attorney at Smith, Steiner, Vanderpool APC since 1987 and a Shareholder there since 1993. She was an Attorney at Richard D. Prochazka APC from 1984 to 1987 and an Attorney at Karmel and Rosenfeld from 1977 to 1984. Steiner is a member of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors and a trustee for San Diego Youth Services. She also served as director of the Metropolitan Water District from 2009 to 2019. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School Email Address: [email protected] |
Kimberly Gallagher, Vice-Chair
Kimberly Gallagher, of Davis, has been Farm Operations Manager at Erdman Farms since 2014 and Owner and Operator of Gallagher Farming Company since 2009. She was a Science Teacher for the Davis Unified School District from 2012 to 2014 and an Independent Study Teacher for the Elk Grove Unified School District from 2004 to 2011. Gallagher is a director of the Colusa Glenn Subwatershed Program and the California Rice Commission. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Christian leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Saint Mary’s College. Email Address: [email protected] |
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Tyrone Bland, Member
Tyrone Bland, of Altadena, has been Head of Government Affairs at Creative Artists Agency since 2020. He worked as a Senior Legal Representative in the Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst from 1998-2000, managing the legislative portfolio for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He was Chair of the California Municipal Utilities Agency Water Task Force and served on the ACWA Legislative Affairs working group. As Special Assistant to the General Manager at the Long Beach Water Department from 1996 to 1998, he was senior advisor to the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, and a board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Mr. Bland attended the University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles. |
Daniel Curtin, Member
Daniel Curtin, of Sacramento, has served as director for the California Conference of Carpenters since 2001 and previously held the same position from 1992 to 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he served as chief deputy director for the Department of Industrial Relations. Prior to that, Curtin was a legislative advocate for the California Conference of Carpenters. He serves on the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of Directors, the Economic Development Commission, and the Industrial Welfare Commission. Email Address: [email protected] |
Alexandre Makler, Member
Alex Makler, of Berkeley, is Senior Vice President, West for Calpine Corporation, a large independent power producer with generation facilities throughout the United States and Canada. He joined Calpine in 1999 as Associate Counsel and has had roles of increasing responsibility in legal and business management functions. He has substantial experience in infrastructure project development, construction, environmental permitting, Federal and state-level electricity and gas regulation, commercial contracting, and finance. Prior to Calpine, Makler worked for private law firms in New York, Houston, and San Francisco. He has both a J.D. and a B.A. (Political Economy) from the University of California, Berkeley. Email Address: [email protected] |
Sandra Matsumoto, Member
Sandra Matsumoto, of Davis, has been Director for the California Water Program at the Nature Conservancy since 2020, where she was Associate Director from 2015 to 2020 and Project Director from 2004 to 2015. She was Project Manager at the Los Angeles Community Design Center from 2003 to 2004 and a Project Analyst at Mintz Levin from 1997 to 1999. She is an advisor to the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center, a board member of the Water Education Foundation and a board member of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Matsumoto earned a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management. Email Address: [email protected] |
Jose Solorio, Member
Jose Solorio, of Santa Ana, was raised in a farmworker family in the Central Valley and knows that water nourishes our bodies, preserves our environment and our fuels our economy. He has been a Government Affairs Officer at Moulton Niguel Water District since 2018. In prior roles, Commissioner Solorio was a Santa Ana City Council Member from 2016 to 2020 and from 2000 to 2006, Senior Policy Advisor at Nossaman LLP from 2014 to 2017 and a California State Assemblymember for the 69th District from 2006 to 2012. Solorio earned a Master of Public Policy degree in government and business policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor's degree from UC Irvin Email Address: [email protected] |
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Laura Jensen, Executive Officer
Laura has served as the Water Commission’s Executive Officer since January 2025, and, prior to that, as the Commission’s Assistant Executive Officer from 2020 to 2024. Laura started working for the State in 2015 as an environmental scientist with the Department of Water Resources, and, from 2015 to 2020, Laura was the ecosystem restoration and community programs manager for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Before working for the State, Laura worked in the private sector for nine years, doing on-the-ground habitat conservation as a project manager with The Nature Conservancy. Laura is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies, and from Yale University, where she earned a Master of Environmental Management degree. Email Address: [email protected] |