California’s climate whiplash has been on full display in the San Joaquin Valley this winter as the region has shifted from managing three years of drought impacts to enduring widespread flooding following a series of intense atmospheric rivers. Our Central Valley Tour at the end of April is your best opportunity to understand both the challenges and opportunities of water management in the region.

The 3-day, 2-night tour tour weaves around and across the entire valley to give you a firsthand look at farms, wetlands and major infrastructure such as Friant Dam in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Fresno and San Luis Reservoir in the Coastal Range near Los Banos, the nation’s largest off-stream reservoir and a key water facility serving both the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.

The water story varies widely from east to west and from north to south in the San Joaquin Valley, so others tour stops include:

• Kern Water Bank west of Bakersfield
• Tulare Lake Basin east of Kettleman City
• Mendota Pool on the San Joaquin River west of Fresno
• Friant-Kern Canal south of Visalia
• Disadvantaged communities on the east side of the valley
• San Luis National Wildlife Refuge north of Los Banos, a major wintering ground & migratory stopover point for large concentrations of waterfowl & shorebirds

A key topic of discussion throughout the tour will be California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and efforts to bring groundwater basins back into balance while also addressing access challenges facing disadvantaged communities. You’ll hear directly from leaders and experts in water storage, groundwater and recharge, agriculture, habitat, land use policy and water equity, including groundwater expert Thomas Harter of UC Davis.

Register here while space is still available!