Lois Henry, a journalist who launched SJV Water as a nonprofit news site devoted to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, was named the 2024 recipient of the Water Education Foundation’s Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism.

Henry said she was honored to receive the award, which acknowledges outstanding work that illuminates complicated water issues in California and the West.

“I’m grateful and humbled to receive this recognition,” Henry said. “Water is such an arcane and politically rife topic. We really strive to explain what’s happening in layman’s terms and walk an unbiased line. So, it’s exciting to know our work has hit the mark and provided value to our readers.”

The award includes a check for $1,000 and allows the recipient to take advantage of the Foundation’s resources, such as water maps, Layperson’s Guides and water tours, to beef up their knowledge and sources even more.

“I can assure you that SJV Water will be taking full advantage of these resources – especially the tours, which should be required curriculum for all Californians,” Henry said.

Foundation Executive Director Jenn Bowles presented the award to Henry on Wednesday (Oct. 30) at the Foundation’s Water Summit in Sacramento.

Sudman, a former broadcast reporter who led the Foundation for 35 years and endowed the award, specified that the current Executive Director selects the recipient each year. Bowles, a veteran journalist, said she chose Henry because she not only started an online news site to cover water in 2019, but also expanded it by hiring additional reporters.

As traditional media coverage of water issues has waned, Bowles said, SJV Water has blossomed into a site that comprehensively covers a region of California that is under more pressure than most to meet the requirements of the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.

“The San Joaquin Valley is really ground zero on issues plaguing California water, everything from groundwater to drought to floods,” Bowles said. “Lois and her team have covered all these issues, and they have done it exceptionally well.”

With the 10th anniversary of SGMA in 2024, Bowles said, it was particularly fitting to honor Henry for her site’s extensive coverage of important groundwater issues.

Before starting SJV Water, Henry worked at The Fresno Bee and The Bakersfield Californian, covering a wide variety of beats. In 2007, she began a twice-weekly, investigative column at the Bakersfield paper and was able to focus on one of her passions – water.

Sudman said she endowed the journalism award with $50,000 to support and encourage coverage of water in California and across the West.

Independent, impartial journalism that explains and illuminates myriad water resource issues throughout the West has been a key part of the Foundation’s mission since its founding in 1977. The Foundation’s journalism team produces articles for Western Water, an online news magazine.