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Pat Mulroy, a leading figure in Western water and the former
general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority who
oversaw the agency during a major period of growth and
drought, will deliver this year’s Anne J. Schneider
Lecture.
The annual water law and policy lecture will be held on April 6,
2016 at Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.
Mulroy will speak on “Interdependent Resilience: Beyond the
Doctrine of Prior Appropriation.”
When the nation’s civil engineers rated America’s infrastructure
in 2013, they issued an overall grade of D+.
California’s scores, assessed by the American Society of
Civil Engineers’ report card, were not much better: Wastewater,
C+; drinking water, C; levees and flood control, D.
The grades underscore two of the biggest challenges facing all
levels of government: How to fund system improvements and how to
finance new multi-purpose infrastructure.
A lively panel discussion at the Water Education
Foundation’s March 17 Executive
Briefing in Sacramento will examine traditional public
funding and Prop. 218, private financing and the idea of
impact investment to boost water infrastructure.
Our tours give you unparalleled access into California’s water
management and the challenges facing our future water supplies.
On the annual Central
Valley Tour April 13-15, you will be face-to-face with
authorities creating Groundwater Sustainability Plans in the
lands most threatened by groundwater overdraft.
They will give you their personal experience with the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act and how this new regulatory structure
will impact California.
Seawater desalination is the focus of the latest issue of the
Water Education Foundation’s flagship publication, Western
Water, now available in a quarterly format with new
features. In the Winter 2016 issue, Writer Gary Pitzer explores
the emerging interest in and growing role of desalination in
California.
The Bay-Delta is always in the news. But 2016 will see headlines
about some significant developments – particularly in relation to
the $15.5 billion twin tunnels proposal.
The “State of the Delta: Tunnels, Habitat and
More” panel at the March 17 Executive
Briefing will feature five leading experts representing a
broad slate of stakeholders. Some of the key issues to be
discussed:
Attending our March 17 Executive
Briefing is more than just hearing in-depth discussions on
the hottest water topics. Besides a hosted reception afterward,
you get the chance to bid on some fun events, outings and baskets
of food grown in California during an auction that benefits the
Water Education Foundation’s Water
Leaders program.
Sign-ups are underway for the Foundation’s April 13-15
Central Valley Tour,
which gives participants a better understanding of water use and
issues in the San Joaquin Valley as they weave through the
nation’s breadbasket.
The tour visits farms and major infrastructure, such as Friant
Dam near Fresno and San Luis Reservoir, the nation’s largest
off-stream reservoir in the United States and a key water
facility serving both the State Water Project and the federal
Central Valley Project.
Karen Ross, California’s food and agricultural chief, and Lester
Snow, former Natural Resources Secretary, are among the key
speakers at an international groundwater conference this summer
in San Francisco.
This annual must-attend event
features provocative discussions examining the new normal – how
climate change will impact the hydrology of water supplies in the
West – Delta tunnels, SGMA: Part Two, and more.
The Water Education Foundation’s annual flagship event will
be held March 17, 2016 in Sacramento. The theme for this year’s
Executive Briefing is “Defining the New Normal.”
What will happen with water year 2016? Reservoirs were at record
lows. Recent precipitation has boosted storage levels but will it
be enough? What is the operation plan for the state and federal
water projects?
Early bird prices end Tuesday for our upcoming Lower Colorado River
Tour, lauded for its broad range of speakers on issues key to
the “lifeblood of the Southwest” as the three-day tour winds
through Nevada, Arizona and California.
In addition to meeting with water experts across the Southwest
and touring key infrastructure such as Hoover Dam, the tour
offers some recreational and cultural attractions.
Take the mystery out of how water laws are developed and discover
how legislation involving key water issues evolves through the
California Legislature during our upcoming Water 101 Workshop in
West Sacramento on Feb. 4.
Dennis O’Connor, Principal Consultant for the Senate Committee on
Natural Resources and Water, will also give the latest
information on water-related bills, including the potential for a
public good charge on water and those connected to the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Financing water infrastructure, implementing the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act, the latest developments on the
Bay-Delta and new climate change research are all topics of
discussion at the 33rd Annual Executive Briefing on March 17 in
Sacramento.
“Defining the New Normal” – the conference theme – will feature
some top speakers, including State Water Board Chair Felicia
Marcus.
A select group of young professionals from a variety
of water stakeholder groups were chosen to
participate in the 2016 class of the highly respected William R. Gianelli Water Leaders program
put on by the Water Education Foundation.
The yearlong program begins Jan. 28 in Sacramento at the
Foundation’s office.
California’s complicated water rights system was highlighted
in the last few years as water rights were curtailed by state
regulators due to the drought. That action prompted some
water rights holders to go to court to retain their rights.
Others called for a revamping of the water rights system all
together.
Arguments aside, what’s the difference between a senior water
right and a junior water right as highlighted in many news
articles? Or a riparian right and an appropriative right? And how
are they determined?
When you hop on a Water Education Foundation tour bus, you get a
special behind-the-scenes look at water facilities and properties
not open to the general public. On our March 2-4 Lower Colorado River
Tour you will not only get a private tour of Hoover Dam, but
you also will be among the first to set foot in the dam’s new
Nevada Spillway House.
With the warmest year on record just behind us, what lies ahead?
That’s the question climate scientist Brad Udall will discuss at
the Water Education Foundation’s March 17 Executive
Briefing in Sacramento.
In his presentation, “Thriving During Climate and Water Change:
Strategies for the 21st Century,” Udall will address research
findings related to how climate change will impact the hydrology
of water supplies in the West and the projected impacts on people
and the ecosystem.
Key Issues surrounding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta – the
proposed tunnels, ecosystem restoration, water quality standards
and water agencies’ attempts to buy some Delta islands – will
be discussed at the Water Education Foundation’s 33rd
annual Executive
Briefing.
As 2016 began, Lake Mead’s level of almost 1,082 feet was a
scant seven feet above the first trigger point for a
shortage determination for the year. Thus, Arizona and Nevada
barely escaped seeing their water supplies cut back this year.
But there is an 18 percent probability of a shortage in 2017.
With the Colorado River suffering through a 16-year dry period,
drought-response activities have become the standard in water
management in the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and
Nevada.
