Time is running out to apply for our biennial Colorado River Water Leaders program! Applications for the 2024 cohort are due Jan. 22, so be sure to check out our application page where you can also get tips on applying for the competitive program.

The Foundation’s 2024 calendar of events begins in March and is packed with engaging tours, workshops and conferences on key water topics in California and across the West. Seating is limited and tickets go quickly for all our programs, so don’t miss out!

Current Foundation member organizations receive access to coveted sponsorships opportunities for our tours and events, which are all prime networking opportunities for the water professionals in attendance! Contact Kayla Sergent with membership status questions or Nick Gray for more details on sponsorship.

Lower Colorado River Tour: March 13-15

The bus is nearly full already for our Lower Colorado River Tour! Don’t miss this engaging journey from Hoover Dam to the U.S.-Mexico border and through the Imperial and Coachella valleys to learn about the challenges and opportunities facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest.” Register here while tickets last!

Water 101 Workshop: April 5

One of our most popular events, the Foundation’s Water 101 Workshop – The Basics & Beyond is hosted at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and details the history, geography, and legal and political facets of water in California. It serves as a great statewide primer on California’s most precious natural resource for water agency staff, engineering and environmental consultants, city council members, county supervisors, legislators, legislative staff, press, advocates, attorneys, environmentalists, public interest organizations, water district directors and others.

Workshop participants are also invited to join an optional groundwater tour April 4, the day before the workshop. The tour will travel to farms, cities and facilities in the Sacramento region to learn firsthand about groundwater management and hear from organizations working to meet the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Register here!

Central Valley Tour: April 24-26

Our Central Valley Tour travels the length of the San Joaquin Valley to explore the challenges of sustaining one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions that relies on imported surface water and diminishing groundwater. You’ll hear directly from farmers, water managers, disadvantaged communities and others about how they’re meeting the challenges of floods and drought, decreasing water quality, farmland conversion for urban growth and requirements under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Register here!

Bay-Delta Tour: May 15-17

Our most popular annual tour, the Bay-Delta Tour ventures into the most critical and controversial water region in California, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and channels supports the state’s two large water systems – the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project – and together with San Francisco Bay is an important ecological resource. You’ll hear experts discuss the issues and controversies surrounding this important resource, farmers who grow produce and environmentalists who are trying to bolster declining fish populations. Register here!

International Groundwater Conference: June 18-20

Don’t miss the must-attend groundwater conference of 2024 focused on the world’s agricultural regions. The 3ʳᵈ International Conference, Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture 2024: Linking Science & Policy, returns to San Francisco for the first time since 2016 and the abstract submission deadline is January 31!

The three-day event will highlight the latest scientific, management, legal and policy advances for sustaining groundwater resources in agricultural regions across California and around the world. More than 150 speakers plus poster presenters will be on hand. The conference will feature several plenary sessions and four concurrent tracks offering a wide range of policy and technical presentations. Register here!

More Tours & Events in 2024 

Be sure to follow our announcements closely for details on more great Foundation programming in 2024:

• Our popular Headwaters Tour, July 24-25
• Our annual Northern California Tour, October 16-18
• The premier Foundation event of the year, our Water Summit, October 30

If you don’t already get our announcements, you can sign up here.