The Foundation’s 2025 programming calendar begins in just a few months 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 mark your calendar now so you 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 Nick Gray for more information.

Lower Colorado River Tour: March 12-14

Be sure to catch the return of our annual Lower Colorado River Tour as we take you 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.”

Following the river as it winds through Nevada, Arizona and California, the tour explores infrastructure, farming regions, wildlife refuges and the Salton Sea. Experts discuss river issues, such as water needs, drought management, endangered species and habitat restoration. Get more tour details and register here!

Water 101 Workshop: April 10

One of our most popular events, the Foundation’s annual 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 watershed tour April 11, the day after the workshop. Follow the complicated story of a drop of water as we journey from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, along the American River and into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with Foundation staff and other water experts. Registration opens January 16!

Central Valley Tour: April 23-25

Our annual 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. Registration opens January 16!

Bay-Delta Tour: May 7-9

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 state’s two large water systems – the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project – convey water through the 720,000-acre network of islands and channels and, along with San Francisco Bay serves as an important ecological resource. You’ll hear experts discuss the issues and controversies surrounding this important resource, farmers who grow produce and environmental and fishing groups that are trying to bolster declining fish populations. Registration will open soon!