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The record precipitation in 2017 in many parts of California has
impacted travel and infrastructure throughout the state.
Unfortunately, the unusually high snowpack has also caused us to
postpone our Headwaters Tour until the fall.
The 2017 Headwaters
Tour, which was planned for April 27-28, will now be held
September 13-14. At that time, we will be able
to safely travel the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond to
view meadow restoration sites, wildfire impacts and our
national forests.
A limited number of scholarships are available for low-income
community members and nonprofits that serve low-income or
under-represented communities within the Santa Ana River
watershed to attend and/or exhibit at the 2017
Santa Ana River Watershed Conference on
May 25 in Ontario.
The Water Education Foundation is known for its colorful, poster-sized maps detailing
California water, the lower Colorado River and the Delta, and its
acclaimed series of Layperson’s
Guides examining such topics as California water, water
rights, groundwater and 13 other subjects.
Scholarships, sponsorships and exhibitor
opportunities are available for the May 25 Santa Ana River
Watershed Conference, where experts from across the region and
state will examine issue key to the watershed that straddles
Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Learn about the people, places and plans behind regional water
management at the Building Capacity for Regional
Sustainability in California: A Water Summit to be held
April 12 in Sacramento. The keynote speaker is
California Water Commissioner David Orth, principal of New
Current Water and Land, LLC. Check out the rest of the agenda
here.
A new Layperson’s
Guide to the Colorado River Delta is now
available from the Water Education Foundation. This 24-page
publication provides readers with the facts about the past,
present and future of this once-vast wetlands area at the end of
the Colorado River near the Gulf of Mexico.
Also now available to the readers of this acclaimed series: a
revised and updated Layperson’s Guide
to Groundwater. Expanded to 28 pages, this
version of this popular title now includes more information about
groundwater overdraft and subsidence, and explains efforts
underway to implement California’s Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act.
Robert B. Maddow, a distinguished attorney known in California
for his work in water rights, water supply and recycled
water, will give the annual
Anne J. Schneider Lecture on water law and policy April 12 at
the Crocker Art Museum.
Maddow will speak on “Anne’s New Paradigm for Sound Water and
Natural Resources Policy – Creative Thinking Needed.” A
discussion following the lecture will be led by State Water
Resources Control Board Chair Felicia Marcus.
Recently, flood waters have torn through residential
neighborhoods, roads and both spillways of our largest dam, which
has led to many Californians asking the obvious questions – Isn’t
the drought over and why hasn’t the state lifted the drought
restrictions?
Hear the story behind the headlines of the recent Oroville Dam
spillway incident and challenges in flood management operations
sparked by the recent heavy rains and the coming snowmelt.
The topic was just added to the
agenda for the Foundation’s 34th Annual Executive Briefing, to be
held this Thursday in Sacramento.
What goes into a regional water sustainability plan? How do you
involve all stakeholders? And how do you manage the resource –
including surface water and groundwater?
Join us at this half-day workshop at the
Sacramento Convention Center to learn how to achieve
regional water sustainability from water and land use leaders
from across the state.
Registration is now open for the Santa Ana
River Watershed Conference set for May 25 in Ontario. The
daylong event will be held at the Ontario Convention Center in
the city of Ontario.
Join us to discuss the importance of the Santa Ana River
Watershed and how, through powerful partnerships, we can find
resilient solutions to improve the quality and reliability
of the region’s water supply.
Leading water experts from across the watershed and California
will discuss:
Since 2000, the Colorado River Basin has experienced an historic,
extended drought causing reservoir storage in the Colorado River
system to decline from nearly full to about half of capacity. For
the Lower Basin, a key point has been to maintain the level of
Lake Mead to prevent a shortage declaration.
A healthy snowfall in the Rockies has reduced the odds of a
shortage this year, but the basin states still must come to terms
with a static supply and growing demands, as well as future
impacts from climate change.
On our Lower
Colorado River Tour, April 5-7, you will meet with water
managers from the three Lower Basin states: Nevada, Arizona and
California. Federal, state and local agencies will update you on
the latest hydrologic conditions and how recent storms might
change plans for water supply and storage.
Highlighting the Water Education Foundation’s annual Executive Briefing on March 23 is a
lunch-time address by Sen. Robert Hertzberg, chair of the Senate
Natural Resources and Water Committee.
The committee is the California Senate’s main policy venue for
what is currently a substantial slate of legislation, from a
proposed water bond (which the committee approved this week), to
bills related to new storage, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,
groundwater and flood management infrastructure in the wake of
the damaged spillway at Oroville Dam.
Attending our annual Executive
Briefing on March 23 is more than just hearing in-depth
discussions on the hottest water topics.
Mingle and network with attendees at the hosted reception after
the conference, and bid throughout the day on some fun outings
and baskets of California products during an auction that
benefits our Water Leaders
program.
Our Lower Colorado
River Tour, April 5-7, gives you a three-day journey through
three states to learn about one of the largest and most managed
rivers in the nation.
Our first stop will take you inside the Hoover Dam, one of
America’s most famous architectural wonders to show you certain
aspects that most will never see.
In the Winter 2017 issue of the Water Education Foundation’s
Western Water, Writer Gary Pitzer delves into preservation and
restoration efforts of salmon in Northern California.
Don’t miss out as the most provocative water issues will be cast
center stage on March 23 during the Water Education Foundation’s
34th annual Executive
Briefing, “Wave of Change: Breaking the Status Quo,” in
Sacramento.
Our tours are famous for not only being packed with diverse
educational opportunities about California water, but showcasing
local culture. Our Central Valley Tour on March
8-10 lets you unwind at a few San Joaquin Valley treasures and
hear stories that go back generations.
The San Joaquin Valley, known as the nation’s breadbasket, is one
of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States.
During our three-day Central Valley water tour,
you will meet farmers who will explain how they prepare the
fields, irrigate their crops and harvest the produce that helps
feed the world. We will also drive through hundreds of miles of
farmland and visit the sources of the water – rivers, dams and
wells.
