Announcement December 12, 2023

Save the Dates for 2024 Tours & Workshops; Coveted Sponsorships Available!
Space is limited & tickets go quickly so make plans now to join us!

As 2023 winds down, the Water Education Foundation team is revving up for a robust 2024 programming year with tours, conferences and workshops on key water topics. Mark your calendars now so you don’t miss these engaging, once-a-year opportunities!

Organizations that are current Foundation members receive access to coveted sponsorships opportunities for our tours and events throughout the year. Both exclusive and general sponsorships are available for our programs that are prime networking opportunities for the water professionals in attendance. Contact Programs Director Nick Gray via email with any questions about our sponsorship program.

Lower Colorado River Tour: March 13-15

Don’t miss the return of our Lower Colorado River Tour as we take you from Hoover Dam to the U.S.-Mexico border and through the Imperial and Coachella valleys to learn about the challenges and opportunities facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest.”

Following the course of the lower Colorado River through Nevada, Arizona and California, the tour explores infrastructure, farming regions, wildlife refuges and the Salton Sea while discussing water needs in the Lower Basin, drought management, endangered species and habitat restoration. Registration opens December 20!

Water 101 Workshop: April 5

One of our most popular events, the Foundation’s Water 101 Workshop – The Basics & Beyond is hosted at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and details the history, geography, and legal and political facets of water in California as well as hot topics. It serves as a great statewide primer on California’s most precious natural resource for water agency staff, engineering and environmental consultants, city council members, county supervisors, legislators, legislative staff, press, advocates, attorneys, environmentalists, public interest organizations, water district directors and others.

Workshop participants can also register for an optional groundwater tour April 4, the day before the workshop. The tour will travel to farms, cities and facilities in the Sacramento region to learn firsthand about groundwater management and hear from organizations working to meet the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Registration opens January 17!

Central Valley Tour: April 24-26

Our Central Valley Tour travels the length of the San Joaquin Valley to explore water supply challenges in one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions thanks to an imported supply of surface water and local groundwater. You’ll hear directly from farmers, water managers, disadvantaged communities and others about how they’re meeting those challenges including drought, dwindling water supplies, decreasing water quality, farmland conversion for urban growth and requirements under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Registration opens January 17!

Bay-Delta Tour: May 15-17

Our most popular annual tour, the Bay-Delta Tour ventures into the most critical and controversial water region in California, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and channels supports the state’s two large water systems – the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project – and together with San Francisco Bay is an important ecological resource. You’ll hear experts discuss the issues and controversies surrounding this important resource, farmers who grow produce and environmentalists who are trying to bolster declining fish populations. Registration opens January 17!

International Groundwater Conference: June 17-20

Don’t miss the must-attend groundwater conference of 2024 focused on the world’s agricultural regions. Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture 2024: 3rd International Conference Linking Science & Policy returns to San Francisco for the first time since 2016. It will highlight the latest scientific, management, legal and policy advances for sustaining groundwater resources in agricultural regions across California and around the world. Registration opens January 17!