Mark your calendars! Registration will be opening soon for two exciting Water Education Foundation events this fall.

Water Summit | Oct. 29 

Join us for the Water Education Foundation’s premier event of the year, bringing together leading policymakers, experts and stakeholders to discuss the most pressing water issues facing California and the West.

The Water Summit is an ideal event for water district managers and board members, state and federal agency officials, city and county government leaders, farmers, environmentalists, attorneys, consultants, engineers, business executives and public interest groups.

NEW! Kern River Tour – Nov. 5-6

We’re excited to introduce our first-ever Kern River Tour, a unique opportunity to explore one of California’s most important and complex river systems.

Travel with us from the mountain-fed headwaters of the Kern River in the southern Sierra Nevada to its terminus in west of Bakersfield. Along the way, participants will gain firsthand insight into the region’s water challenges, infrastructure and competing demands.

Among the planned stops are both upper forks of the Kern River, Lake Isabella, lower Kern River canyon, the Friant-Kern Canal, irrigated agriculture in the valley, the Kern Water Bank and more. It will not be an annual tour, so don’t miss this opportunity!

Registration and additional details for both events will be available soon. Stay tuned!

Job Opening: Help Shape the Story of Water in the West

Are you a seasoned journalist who thrives on turning complex issues into powerful, accessible stories? Do you want your work to inform public understanding and influence conversations around the West’s most critical natural resource?

The Water Education Foundation — a highly respected and impartial nonprofit serving California and the Colorado River Basin for nearly 50 years — is seeking an experienced and energetic editor to serve as our News & Publications Director and elevate how we tell the story of water in the West. From drought to infrastructure to policy, the need for clear, factual and engaging water information has never been greater.

Based in Sacramento, the Foundation has spent decades helping policymakers, decision-makers and the public navigate the complexities of water in the West. Our news, publications, tours and educational programs are widely recognized for their accuracy, context and impact.

Find the complete job posting for our next News & Publications Director.

Read our Latest Western Water Article

The longstanding operating guidelines for the Colorado River expire this year, and after five years of grinding negotiations over a new agreement the Upper and Lower Basins remain deadlocked.

That has set up a showdown over a legal time bomb that’s been ticking away at the heart of the Colorado River Compact since the river’s guiding document was signed more than 100 years ago — the risk of a Compact call by the Lower Basin to try to force delivery of their water apportionment by the Upper Basin. 

Two obvious paths now lie ahead: an interim plan imposed by the Secretary of the Interior, or a courtroom fight that would likely go all the way to the Supreme Court. But for 20 years, a third possibility has stubbornly persisted in the background. 

Read more about why a group of seasoned river observers believe it could save the Colorado in our latest Western Water article, available online now.