Announcements

Get an up-close look at some of California’s key water reservoirs and learn about farming operations, habitat restoration, flood management and wetlands in the Sacramento Valley on our Northern California Water Tour Oct. 10-12.

Each year, participants on the Northern California Water Tour enjoy three days exploring the Sacramento Valley during the temperate fall. Join us as we travel through a scenic landscape along the Sacramento and Feather rivers to learn about issues associated with storing and delivering the state’s water supply.

Controversial flow requirements for the lower San Joaquin River designed to meet ecological needs of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will be among the topics addressed during the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

The Foundation’s 35th annual Water Summit, Facing Reality from the Headwaters to the Delta, will feature panels on the Delta, the Sierra Nevada headwaters and the state’s human right to water law. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman will be the keynote speaker at lunch. 

Jennifer Bowles, executive director of the Water Education Foundation, will speak on a panel about the media during the 25th Annual Urban Water Institute’s conference in San Diego Aug 22-24.

Bowles, a veteran journalist and executive editor of the Foundation’s Western Water news, will join other media representatives, including Ry Rivard of the Voice of San Diego, to discuss Working with the Media in Changing Times. Former Foundation Executive Director Rita Schmidt Sudman, author of Water More or Less, will moderate. See the draft agenda here.

Summer Solstice happens tomorrow, and to celebrate, we’re offering a special 20% discount on our beautiful poster-size water maps, Layperson’s Guides and other water education materials.

Don’t miss out! This summer sale starts now and runs through Friday. Use the promo code SOLSTICE at checkout to get your discount.

It’s high-stakes time in Arizona. The state that is first in line to absorb a shortage on the Colorado River is seeking a unified approach for water supply management to join its Lower Basin neighbors, California and Nevada, in a coordinated plan to preserve water levels in Lake Mead before they run too low.

If the lake’s elevation falls below 1,075 feet above sea level, the secretary of the Interior would declare a shortage and Arizona’s deliveries of Colorado River water — water that helps feed its farms and cities — would be reduced by 320,000 acre-feet — enough, Arizona says, to supply about 1 million households a year.

Our Headwaters Tour later this month now includes a stop at the University of California, Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Field Station, a Sierra Nevada research and training facility where we’ll learn about forest ecology research and a forest restoration project.

Spots are still available for the June 28-29 tour, but sign up quickly here to ensure your spot! 

The Sierra Nevada mountains, which are key to California’s water supply through snowmelt, are dotted with nearly 130 million dead trees weakened by drought and insect infestations. 

The severe tree mortality has increased the risk of devastating wildfires, reduced the ability of forests to absorb greenhouse gases and limited the effectiveness of forests and meadows to regulate water quality and moderate downhill flow. While the 2012-2016 drought was one leading cause of tree mortality in California, the dry conditions also exacerbated tree infestations from more than a half-dozen different bark beetles.

On our Headwaters Tour, June 28-29, guests will hear from leading forest managers and entomologists about the extent of this epidemic, how it is altering forests and impacting upper watersheds, and what can be done to mitigate the damages.

As California embarks on its unprecedented mission to harness groundwater pumping, the Arizona desert may provide one guide that local managers can look to as they seek to arrest years of overdraft. 

Groundwater is stressed by a demand that often outpaces natural and artificial recharge. In California, awareness of groundwater’s importance resulted in the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014 that aims to have the most severely depleted basins in a state of balance in about 20 years.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the West Coast’s largest estuary and a vital hub in California’s complex water delivery system. It’s also a rich farming area, an important wetlands – and an ecologically troubled region. 

On our Bay-Delta Tour, May 16-18, participants will hear from a diverse group of experts, including water managers, environmentalists, farmers, engineers and scientists who will offer different perspectives on the proposed tunnels project, efforts to revitalize the Delta, and risks that threaten its delicate ecological balance. The controversial tunnels project, which would carry water beneath the Delta, got a boost recently when Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted to cover nearly $11 billion of the construction cost.