New DWR director discusses water resiliency plans bringing more resources to bear and dif- ferent resources to bear, to find a new way to meet the requirements of the state wa- ter board’s water quality control plan with less water cost. We’re freeing up, hopefully, water for continued productive use while at the same time meeting the needs of the water board. On the Record California National Resources Agency and held a few positions there before joining the Department of Water Resources about five years ago.
water. So, it helps me to understand what they might need, what our needs are and then, ideally, find a path forward that sat- isfies everybody. What are some early priorities for you as you step into this position? Well, there are a
n The California Department of Water Resources swore in its new director, Thomas Gibson, in July. He previously worked in various state agencies addressing water issues, including stints at the state Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife and Natu- ral Resource Agency. Gibson spoke with Ag Alert ® about his priorities as he steps into his new role. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How has your past experience informed how you think about California’s water issues? I’ve worked in water for most of my ca- reer at this point. I was a lawyer in private practice that worked on some water mat- ters for about a decade and then came to work at the state department. At the time, it was called the Department of Fish and Game; now it’s the Department of Fish and Wildlife. I was the general counsel there for a number of years. Then I went to the
I think that helps me in this position, having the background of those different perspectives on water, because in all those cases, I’ve worked primarily on water is- sues. So, a long time in the water world, but from different perspectives. In private practice, you’re representing your client’s interest, usually in the litiga- tion context of working on water matters. Then at the Department of Fish and Game, I worked from the perspective of the regu- lator. But at the same time, we were trying to be productive and pragmatic, working on California’s solutions but from that lens. And then came the Department of Water Resources, where we’re on the water sup- ply side. It really helps me to have the back- ground of working on these matters from different perspectives, understanding and respecting the different statutory man- dates they have, understanding that those mandates really collectively comprise the California policies around how we handle
The Sites Reservoir Project is another big one. The water board is completing its permit for that hopefully in the fall, and then we’re hoping to get a final award from the water commission for funding for that project, which would be the first major sur- face water storage project in a generation. And then more recently, SB 72 (signed into law in 2025), which really mod- ernizes our water plan process. It puts some new requirements on us that we’re working towards for a 2028 water plan release where we’ll really be converting the water plan from an inventory into an actionable document based on regional analysis of water supply needs and water supply opportunities. I’d say those are really the big ones, but then at the same time we have Sustainable
number of projects that are key admin- istration priorities that we need to re- ally maintain mo- mentum on. One is the Delta Conveyance Proj- ect, which is our big climate adapta- tion project for our
Thomas Gibson
IRRIGATION
water future. There’s also the Healthy Riv- ers and Landscapes Program; that used to be called the VAs (voluntary agreements). It’s really the water user community, in- cluding agriculture, coming together and
See GIBSON, Page 5
September 16, 2026 Ag Alert 3
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