Announcements

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our annual Lower Colorado River Tour now has two options to benefit attendees: early bird prices and a starting and end point in California.

The March 11-13 Lower Colorado River Tour begins in Las Vegas and ends at California’s Ontario Airport. But those concerned about out-of-state travel can now take the option of beginning and ending the tour in Ontario.

Those who select this option can learn more here.

As the multiyear drought continues across the Colorado River Basin and the two main reservoirs along the river reach lower and lower levels, federal officials and the major users of the river’s water are seeking to avert crisis conditions and offering millions of dollars to stimulate new water conservation proposals, writes Water Education Foundation Writer Gary Pitzer.

Pitzer covers “The Colorado River System Conservation Program: Wringing Even More Savings from the System” in the recently published Winter 2014/2015 edition of River Report.

Twenty-one Young Professionals to Meet Jan. 29

Members of the highly revered William R. Gianelli Water Leaders program put on by the Water Education Foundation were selected to participate in the 2015 class.

Class members are:

The 2012 landmark Colorado River Basin Study identified a major disparity between future water supply and demand, and established three workgroups to figure out how to close the gap. The newest issue of Western Water magazine takes a look at the process and progress in the last two years.

See the “Lifeblood of the Southwest” Up Close

Signups are now underway for the Water Education Foundation’s March 11-13 tour of the Lower Colorado River. Don’t miss this opportunity to visit key sites along the “lifeblood of the Southwest,” including a private tour of Hoover Dam, Central Arizona Project’s Mark Wilmer pumping plant, the Havasu National Wildlife refuge, farms in the Imperial and Coachella valleys, and the Salton Sea.