New to the Foundation’s water tours this year, our Edge of Drought Tour Aug. 27-29 will journey through the Santa Barbara area to examine the portfolio approach being taken to the challenges of limited surface and groundwater supplies by several local agencies as they work to build drought resilience for the future.

Solutions such as ocean and brackish water desalination, advanced purification and groundwater injection and pervious concrete retrofitting for groundwater recharge will be explored, as well as cloud seeding and atmospheric river research.

Some of the agencies on the tour include:

• United Water Conservation District
• Ventura County Public Works Agency 
• Carpinteria Valley Water District
• City of Santa Barbara
• Montecito Water District
• Cambria Community Services District
• County of San Luis Obispo
• Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District

We’ll also learn firsthand about the effects of the 2017 Thomas Fire on local water infrastructure and the impacts of the subsequent debris flows on water quality. We’ll visit an atmospheric river observatory in Santa Barbara that specifically monitors the meteorological phenomenon to better inform water operations and hear from managers using cloud seeding to increase precipitation in the region’s watershed.

Planned stops include:

• Pyramid Lake
• Freeman Diversion Dam and fish ladder
• Ojai Valley groundwater recharge site
• Lake Casitas
• Santa Barbara desalination plant
• Lake Cachuma
• Twitchell Reservoir
• Cambria water reclamation facility
• Lopez Lake
• Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve

Join us for this 2 1/2-day tour through a scenic but challenged California landscape prone to drought, mudslides and wildfire. The tour starts at 1 p.m. at the Burbank Airport Aug. 27, and ends at the airport on Aug. 29, with overnight stays in Ventura and Paso Robles.

Click here for information on all our 2019 tours, and contact Programs Manager Nick Gray via email or at 916-444-6240 with any questions.