Explore the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape as we learn about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply. All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. This year, special attention will be paid to the flood event at Oroville Dam and the efforts to repair the dam spillway before the next rainy season. 

This 3-day, 2-night tour travels across the Sacramento Valley and follows the river north from Sacramento through Chico to Redding and Lake Shasta, where participants take a houseboat ride.

Experts talk about the history of the Sacramento River as the tour wends through riparian woodland, crop fields and nut orchards. The tour tracks important water issues for farming and environmental uses, visits potential storage sites, discusses innovative programs for flood management, groundwater management and salmon restoration.

What attendees say about the tour:

What did you like best?

“Diversity of speakers, seeing Sites Reservoir site firsthand, good food. Organization was great!”

“Seeing Chinook salmon at the Feather River, fish ladder and Sites Reservoir.”

“The broad range of water issues and market sectors covered by the tour. Also appreciate the extensive experience & local knowledge of the resource speakers & site-specific speakers.”

Planned Stops Include:

• Oroville Dam Visitors Center
• Environmental restoration sites
• Flood control projects
• Feather River Fish Hatchery
• Rice fields and other agricultural operations
• Red Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project
• Shasta Dam
• Clear Creek Restoration Project
• The site of the proposed Sites Reservoir

Topics Include:

• Oroville Dam damage and repair efforts
• The significance of the Sacramento River to California’s water supply
• Flood management and levee safety
• State Water Project and Central Valley Project operations
• Restoration of endangered Chinook salmon
• Groundwater, conjunctive use and area-of-origin water rights
• Environmental restoration projects
• Agriculture/wildlife conservancies and wildlife refuges
• Impacts of mining on water quality
• Farming in the Sacramento Valley
• Proposed water storage locations
• Wetlands

Pricing Details:

Regular Price – $790 (one-person single occupancy room)

Early Bird Price – $765 if you register online by Sept. 11. Click on the Eventbrite button above.

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

Tour Start and End Point:

The tour begins on October 11 at 7:30 a.m. and ends on October 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Sacramento International Airport. We will spend the nights at hotels in Oroville and Redding. 

Cancellation and Refund Policy:

Deadline to cancel and receive a full refund is two weeks prior to the first day of the tour due to hotel, meal and transportation bookings. Substitutions are allowed up to three business days before the tour.

MCLE and Other Continuing Education Credits:

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