Facing the challenges of sustainably managing and sharing water,
our most precious natural resource, requires collaboration,
education and outreach. Since 1977, the Water Education
Foundation has put water resource issues in California and the
West in context to inspire a deep understanding of and
appreciation for water.
Taking a steady pulse of the water world, the Foundation offers
educational materials, tours of key watersheds, water news, water
leadership training and conferences that bring together diverse
voices. By providing tools and platforms for engagement with wide
audiences, we aim to help build sound and collective solutions to
water issues.
What We Do
We support and execute a wide variety of programming to build a
better understanding of water resources across the West,
including:
Mission: The mission of the Water Education
Foundation, an impartial nonprofit, is to inspire understanding
of water and catalyze critical conversations to build bridges and
inform collaborative decision-making
Vision: A society that has the ability to
resolve its water challenges to benefit all
Where We Work
Our office is located in Sacramento, CA.
Connect with Us!
Sign up here to get email announcements
about upcoming workshops, tours and new publications.
You can learn more about the daily comings and goings of the
Foundation by following @WaterEdFdn on Twitter,
liking us on Facebook or
following us on
LinkedIn.
The 24-page guide explores the history of the Central Valley
Project, from its roots as a state water project that stalled
amid the Great Depression to its development as a federal project
that stretches from Shasta Dam in far Northern California to
Bakersfield in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
A report by the State Water Resources Control Board recommends
that new water rights permits be tailored to California’s
increasingly volatile hydrology and be adaptable enough to ensure
water exists to meet an applicant’s demand. And it warns
that the increasingly whiplash nature of California’s changing
climate could require existing rights holders to curtail
diversions more often and in more watersheds — or open
opportunities to grab more water in climate-induced floods.
Explore the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta, one of California’s most vital ecological and water
resources, with a special
discounted education bundle that includes our
brand-new Delta Map and our recently updated Layperson’s Guide to
the Delta.
Purchased separately, the map retails for $20 and the guide sells
for $15. But with our Delta Education Bundle you can get
both items for just $30.
Our map of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta has been updated with a fresh, new look and
new text and images to better tell the story of one of
California’s most important ecological and water supply
resources.
The new
map explores the Delta’s importance as a haven for
birds, fish and other wildlife, its vital role in moving water to
farms and cities across California, and the array of challenges
facing the Delta’s present and future. The map also highlights
life in the Delta, including its role as a farming region and its
attractions for fishermen, boaters and others looking for
recreation.
Mark your calendars now for our
virtual Lower Colorado River Tour on May 20 to
learn about the important role the river’s water plays in the
three Lower Basin states of Nevada, Arizona and California, and
how it helps to sustain their cities, wildlife areas and farms.
Registration is coming soon!
This virtual journey will cover a stretch of the Colorado
River from Hoover Dam and its reservoir Lake Mead, the
nation’s tallest concrete dam and largest reservoir
respectively, down to the U.S./Mexico border and up to the
Salton Sea.
Learn from top water experts at our
annual Water
101 Workshop about the history, hydrology and
law behind California water as well as hot topics such as water
equity, the Delta and flows, new federal
administration and more.
This year’s workshop, set for April 22-23, will be held virtually
and feature a presentation devoted
solely to groundwater. In a typical year, groundwater
quenches some 40 percent of the state’s freshwater needs, and 85
percent of Californians depend on groundwater for at least
portion of their drinking water supply. With California using
more groundwater than any other state, participants will learn
how all this affects efforts to comply with the state’s 2014
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
After all, Larsen grew up in Florida, where deep, marshy
backwaters of the Everglades are reminiscent of the large tidal
estuary that is California’s most crucial water and ecological
resource. Larsen’s background stirred her interest early.
Registration is now open for one of
our most popular events, the Water
101 Workshop, to be held this year virtually on the
afternoons of April 22-23.
The annual workshop serves as a refresher for more veteran water
professionals and a good statewide primer for others.
Participants will come away with a deeper understanding of the
state’s most precious natural resource.
Our daily news aggregation known as
Aquafornia keeps you
up-to-date on the most pressing water issues in California and
across the West.
Curated by veteran journalist Alastair Bland and
managed by the Foundation’s news and publications director
Doug
Beeman, Aquafornia gives you the latest articles on
groundwater, Delta issues, the Colorado River and more through an
easy-to-scan headline format.
Curious about water rights in
California? Want to know more about how water is managed in the
state, or learn about the State Water Project, Central Valley
Project or other water infrastructure?
Mark your calendars now for our virtual Water
101 Workshop for the afternoons of April 22-23 to
hear from experts on these topics and more. Registration
is coming soon!
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the Water Education Foundation
team continues to churn out water news, maps
that provide visual context to key water topics and guides that
help deepen your understanding of California’s most precious
natural resource.
It’s been three years since we took Western Water
magazine online to make topical issues regarding our most vital
resource in California and the West accessible to more people.
Since 1977, the magazine has been a trusted resource, and our
journalism team works hard to not break that trust.
Our latest offering is a special report on groundwater
because it’s so vital to California as a drinking water source
and to grow our crops.
Our 2020 Water Leaders class
completed its year with a report outlining policy recommendations
for adapting California water management to climate change.
The class of
23 up-and-coming leaders from various
stakeholder groups and backgrounds – engineers, attorneys,
planners, farmers, environmentalists and scientists - had
full editorial control to choose recommendations.
In any given year, whether it’s a wet
winter or a dry one, groundwater is a critical source of water
for California, providing 40 percent to 60 percent of the state’s
supply. Some areas of the state are entirely dependent on
groundwater.
To help you learn more about the importance of groundwater, the
Water Education Foundation has an array of educational materials
on this vital resource. And next week, the Foundation’s flagship
publication, Western
Water news, will publish a special report
examining how two local groundwater agencies are taking different
approaches to achieve sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley,
one of the most critically overdrafted regions in the state. You
can sign up here to be
alerted when this special report is published.
Happy New Year to all the friends, supporters, readers and tour and workshop participants of the Water Education Foundation! We’re grateful to each and every person who interacted with us in 2020, especially as we pivoted our in-person programming to virtual platforms.
As we turn the page to 2021, we’re looking ahead to a year of hope that COVID-19 will no longer be a major threat to our health and well-being.
But, with the pandemic in mind, our team is planning a hybrid year starting with virtual water educational experiences and, if deemed safe by health officials, a return to in-person events in the second half of 2021.
As we wind down to Thanksgiving and look back on this challenging year, feelings of gratitude well up.
We are grateful most of all for the health of our team at the Water Education Foundation. And we are especially grateful for those who supported us along the way, allowing our talented team to pivot in-person educational opportunities about California’s most precious natural resource into virtual experiences.
The Water Education Foundation’s tours offer participants a
first-hand look at the water facilities, rivers and regions
critical in the debate about the future of water resources.
From recent news articles to publications, maps and tours, Water
Education Foundation has everything you need, including the
award-winning Layperson’s Guide to the Delta.
