Find out what the Water Education Foundation is up to with
announcements about upcoming events, tours, new Western
Water articles on key water topics and more!
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With first-ever, statewide mandatory water conservation ordered
across California, go to our Water Conservation Tips page
to find ways to save water inside and outside of your house
On the same webpage, you can click open other water fact pages,
such as our “Food
Facts” page to see how much water is used
to produce certain foods – from almonds to butter and a
hamburger.
As first-ever water restrictions are ordered in California, join
the Water Education Foundation’s Central Valley Tour to see how
the lack of rain and snow has impacted the heavily agricultural
region.
Besides drought impacts, the three-day tour beginning April 22
offers participants a chance to see the hottest issues in water
up close: Groundwater, subsidence and habitat restoration.
It also provides participants with a close-up look
at the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project,
the state’s two key water delivery systems.
The role that integrated regional water management can play
during the drought and in the state’s water future is the focus
of a May 21-22 conference to be held in San Diego.
Debate swirls around California’s largest inland lake, the Salton
Sea, which sits at the heart of a major farm-to-city water
transfer that allowed the state to stay within its allocation of
the Colorado River.
With the historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act now law
– what’s next? Issues related to implementation at the state and
regional levels will be the focus of a panel discussion at the
Foundation’s March 25 Executive
Briefing in Sacramento.
Hear what’s in the Department of Water Resources’ recently
released draft strategic plan identifying actions that need to be
taken to help local agencies achieve sustainable groundwater
management from Dan McManus, regional planning branch chief at
DWR. Regional, on-the-ground activities will be discussed by
executive director of the Regional Water Authority and Sacramento
Groundwater Authority.
Sign-ups are underway for the Foundation’s April 22-24 Central Valley Water Tour,
which focuses on San Joaquin Valley water issues. The tour
begins and ends at Sacramento International Airport after a
fast-paced trek down the west side of the valley and back up the
east side.
Stops include San Luis Reservoir, the San Luis National Wildlife
Refuge, Westlands Water District, the Tulare Lake Basin, Kern
Water Bank, the Kings River, Friant Dam and the San Joaquin
River.
The multi-year drought is the leading news story this year as
water managers confront low reservoirs, reduced instream flows,
water supply cutbacks, and the need for increased customer
conservation. But even when this drought ends, many of these
management challenges will not.
Experts say the effects of climate change, population growth and
other factors will result in needing to further stretch supplies
to meet future demands. Long-term management is the key.
If you only have time to attend one water conference this spring
this is THE event to attend: the Water Education Foundation’s
March 25 Executive
Briefing in Sacramento.
Consider the lineup of top speakers (just to name a few):
DWR Director Mark Cowin
Principal Deputy Assistant Interior Secretary Jennifer Gimbel
Cal-EPA Undersecretary Gordon Burns
Deputy Resources Secretary Karla Nemeth
Delta Vision Foundation President Sunne McPeak
California Water Foundation Executive Director Lester Snow
Our 2015 spring event season is underway with a line-up of top
speakers and key water issues, such as groundwater and drought,
on the agendas. Each event is linked to a page with more details
and an online registration form. Some events are free but seating
is limited so register soon.
In the January/February issue of Western Water Magazine,
Writer Gary Pitzer delves into the notion of a “sustainable” and
“resilient” water supply.
His article highlights what sustainability and resiliency mean to
a state in the middle of a drought and with a growing population
and water needs that stretch from bustling cities in the north
and south to the rich agricultural fields of the Central,
Imperial and Coachella valleys and Central Coast.
Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water
Resources, and Jennifer Gimbel, principal deputy assistant
secretary for water and science at the Department of the
Interior, will headline a lineup of top speakers at the Water
Education Foundation’s March 25 Executive
Briefing.
Learn about how current hydrologic conditions are affecting water
project operations and conditions in the Delta and the actions
being taken in response to balance impacts to cities, farms, and
the environment at “Challenges of the 2015 Drought: Water Project
Operations” March 19 in Fresno.
Cosponsored by DWR and the Foundation in cooperation with the
Center for Irrigation Technology at CSU Fresno, this one-day
event will feature speakers from the state and federal
agencies.
Nothing compares to seeing the water facilities and related uses
– agricultural fields, wetlands, urban water treatment
plants and more – firsthand. The Water Education Foundation
invites you to get out of the office and join one of our
upcoming tours.
The Board of Directors of the Water Education Foundation recently
elected four new members. They are: Cannon
Michael of Bowles Farming Company, Kim
Delfino with Defenders of Wildlife, Jennifer
Persike with the Association of California Water
Agencies and Christopher Park with CDM Smith,
announced Jennifer Bowles, Foundation executive director.
As Lake Mead continues to decline, Arizona officials say there is
a 61 percent chance of a first-ever shortage declaration in 2017.
Mead is now at 1,089 feet above sea level, or 42 percent of
capacity. If the reservoir drops to elevation 1075, a level
one shortage would be declared, reducing supplies to Arizona and
Nevada.
Drought, the new sustainable groundwater law, the water bond, the
Salton Sea and the Bay-Delta will all be discussed at the
32nd Annual Executive Briefing to be held March 25 in
Sacramento.
“The Value of Water: Building Momentum in 2015” will
feature some top speakers, including DWR Director Mark Cowin,
California Water Commissioner Joe Del Bosque and Cal EPA
Undersecretary Gordon Burns.
When it comes to flooding in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,
it’s not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
The Water Education Foundation’s latest video, “Getting
Prepared: Preventing Flood Contamination in the Delta”
(running time 17.35) takes a look at the real threats of flooding
in the Delta and what to do to minimize the damage when it
happens.
Speakers at next week’s Water 101 Workshop in the Sacramento area
will talk about California’s new groundwater law and the
important role that groundwater plays in the state’s supply.
The 2015 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act became effective
Jan. 1. It was passed by the state Legislature last fall, making
California the last state in the West to regulate groundwater
pumping.
California voters last year passed a $7.5 billion bond water bond
amid one of the worst droughts in the state’s history. What’s in
the water bond and where is the money going to go?
Get the answers from Kim Delfino, member of the California Water
Commission, at the Water Education Foundation’s Water 101 Workshop
Feb 5-6 in West Sacramento.
The largest single portion of bond money was the $2.7 billion
earmarked for the Commission to allocate for storage projects.
