Department of Water Resources Home

DWR Executive Biographies - Chief Counsel

David Sandino

David Sandino
Chief Counsel

David Sandino is employed as Chief Counsel for the California Department of Water Resources. He manages 27 attorneys and 8 support staff for the Department. He was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He works on water, environmental, and energy issues for the Department. He has served as lead counsel for the California Reclamation Board, which is responsible for flood control protection in the Central Valley. He also served as lead attorney for the Department from 1995-2000 in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta Hearings, which allocated responsibilities to meet environmental water quality standards in the Delta. He has taught water law, environmental law, energy law, real property and local government law at Santa Clara University School of Law and Golden Gate University School of Law. He also teaches water law to environmental professionals at the UC Davis Extension and the UCLA Extension. He received a 1999 Fulbright Fellowship and he taught international environmental law at the Moscow State Academy, Moscow, Russia.

He is on the Board of Editors of California Environmental Law Reporter, and he has written numerous articles on the environment, water, and land use. He served on the City of Davis Planning Commission and Natural Resources Commission. He currently serves on the City of Davis Policy Advisory Commission, which reviews internal police investigations.

He received his A.B. in chemistry from UC Davis in 1980. He continued his education with a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, where he graduated in 1984. He received his LL.M specializing in public international law in 1987, from the University of London, King's College. While in London, he studied under a Rotary Foundation Graduate Fellowship.

Education:
A.B., 1980, University of California-Davis
J.D., 1984, Santa Clara University
LL.M., 1987, University of London, King's College

Contact Information:

Melinda Woods, Legal Secretary (melindaw@water.ca.gov)
Telephone: (916) 653-5966

Mailing Address:

California Department of Water Resources
P.O. Box 942836, Room 1118
Sacramento, CA 94236-0001

Street Address:

1416 - 9th Street, Room 1118
Sacramento, CA 95814