This 2-day, 1-night tour offered participants the opportunity to learn about water issues affecting California’s scenic Central Coast and efforts to solve some of the challenges of a region struggling to be sustainable with limited local supplies that have potential applications statewide.

We traveled from the technology hub of Silicon Valley’s San Jose to the coastal enclave of Monterey and through agricultural-rich Salinas Valley to the wine country of Paso Robles visiting farms, vineyards, water recycling facilities and the Carmel River where a major dam — the 106-foot San Clemente Dam — was removed a few years ago to see how the river’s restoration was progressing.

Topics included ocean desalination, water recycling, groundwater and seawater intrusion, habitat restoration, and urban and agricultural water use.

Stops Included:

• Valley Water District
• Pure Water Monterey
• San Clemente Dam
• Salinas Valley
• Carmel River
• Paso Robles vineyard

Topics Included:

• Ocean desalination
• Water recycling
• Groundwater
• Seawater intrusion
• Dam removal & habitat restoration
• Agriculture

Tour Start and End Point:

The tour began on November 6 at 7:30 a.m. and ended on November 7 at 6:30 p.m. in San Jose at Valley Water District - 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118. We spent the night in Paso Robles.

Pricing Details:

Regular Price – $645 (one person, single-occupancy room)

Early Bird Price – $615 if you registered online by October 7.

Fee included all tour meals, transportation, materials, snacks and hotel accommodations once the tour began. Participants were responsible for their own transportation to and from the tour’s beginning and end point.

Free overnight parking was available for all tour attendees in San Jose.

Cancellation and Refund Policy:

Deadline to cancel and receive a refund was three weeks prior to the first day of the tour due to hotel, meal and transportation bookings. Substitutions were allowed up to five business days before the tour. Refunds may have been subject to a 10% processing fee.

Continuing Education Credits:

Continuing education credits were available for California attorneys for an additional fee, and may have been available for water plant/wastewater plant operators and other vocations/professions.