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Water articles on key water topics and more!
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We’re looking for a special kind of
writer to join our team who is eager to produce the kinds of
insightful and challenging stories we pursue, such as
our latest Western Water article on how
drought and climate change are threatening to upend collaboration
in the Colorado River Basin.
Are you a journalist enthralled by the history, policy and
science behind Western water issues? Then you might be just the
right person to join our team. We’re looking for a full-time
writer who is deeply knowledgeable about the West’s most precious
natural resource in California and the Colorado River Basin,
enjoys a fast-paced environment and possesses strong multimedia
skills. Learn more about the job here.
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 2021, especially as we continued to pivot our in-person programming to virtual and, in some cases, hybrid platforms.
As we turn the page to 2022, we are cautiously returning to in-person tours and events in mid-March with our Lower Colorado River Tour. While the current COVID-19 strain, omicron, is expected to fizzle out by then, we will be implementing precautions to keep everyone safe.
The West is experiencing extraordinary and historic turmoil
surrounding water resources and drought, despite recent storms
that plumped up much-needed snowpack in the mountains. At the
Foundation, we are gearing up this year to focus even more on the
Colorado River Basin, the West’s iconic river that supplies 40
million people from Denver to Los Angeles and irrigates more than
4 million acres of crops.
As the year comes to a close and the holidays approach, don’t
forget to get your deal on our water book. Right around the
corner is our Lower Colorado River Tour in March; get the details
below to save the date. And don’t miss your chance next
Tuesday to learn more about applying for our inaugural 2022
Colorado River Water Leaders program.
Known for our popular Water Leaders
program in California – about to mark its 25th anniversary – we
are now launching a Colorado
River Water Leaders program in 2022, the 100th
anniversary of the Colorado River Compact.
The biennial program will select rising stars from the seven
U.S. states that rely on the river – California, Nevada, Arizona,
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – to participate in the
seven-month class designed for working professionals. Class
members will explore issues surrounding the iconic Southwest
river, deepen their water knowledge and build leadership
skills.
Our Layperson’s
Guide to California Water has been completely
redesigned and updated throughout for 2021, providing an
excellent overview of the history of water development and its
use in California today.
The 10th Edition of our popular guide to California water
includes the latest information on the state’s changing
hydrology, recent water conservation legislation, and a new
section on the human right to and need for water, highlighting
issues of water access and affordability that have drawn
increasing attention in California.
Our 2021 Water Leaders class
completed its year with a report outlining policy recommendations
for achieving water equity in California.
The class of 23 up-and-coming
leaders from various water-related fields – engineers,
attorneys, planners, environmentalists and scientists – had full
editorial control to choose recommendations.
Here’s a sweet deal for the holidays
that won’t last long: Get our paperback “Water & the
Shaping of California,” a treasure trove of gorgeous
color photos, historic maps, water literature and famous sayings
about water for just $22.75 – a 35% discount.
“Water & the Shaping of California” is a beautifully designed
book that discusses the engineering feats, political decisions
and popular opinions that reshaped nature and society, leading to
the water projects that created the California we know today. The
book includes a foreword by the late Kevin Starr, the Golden
State’s premier historian.
Today on Giving Tuesday, a global
day of generosity, consider supporting the Water Education
Foundation by making a
donation.
The Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that has garnered the
highest level of recognition (platinum rating) by GuideStar,
has been educating people about water issues in California and
the West since 1977.
Apply by Dec. 7 for our 2022
Water Leaders class and be part of the cohort that will mark the
25th anniversary of California’s pre-eminent water leadership
program.
The Water Leaders class, which started in 1997, is aimed at
providing a deeper understanding of California water issues
and building leadership skills by working with a mentor, studying
a water-related topic in-depth and crafting policy
recommendations on that topic with your cohort.
The deadline to apply for the 2022 class is Dec.
7 at 5 p.m. Find the online application form and other
required items for your application
package here.
Our water tours are lauded because
they are both fun and educational, so don’t miss your chance to
experience our last online tour event of the year. Register now
for our Tuesday, Nov. 9, Headwaters Tour
and we’ll take you on an engaging virtual journey across the
upper watershed of a major Sierra-fed river to learn the
important role forests play in California’s water supply.
The virtual Headwaters Tour travels through portions of the
American River watershed, beginning at the crest of the Sierra
Nevada mountains and heading down into the foothills and
eventually ending at Folsom Lake near Sacramento.
You can more easily support the
important work done by the Water Education Foundation in
California and across the West by making a tax-deductible gift
via a one-time payroll deduction through your employer or a set
amount per pay period.
The contributions through Workplace Giving programs support our
nonprofit’s mission to inspire understanding of water and
catalyze critical conversations to build bridges and inform
collaborative decision-making.
As the year comes to a close, so does our schedule of educational
programming with just two more virtual journeys remaining this
Thursday and next Tuesday. And don’t miss your chance this
Thursday to learn more about applying for our 2022 Water
Leaders program, now in its 25th
year.
You still have an opportunity to experience the Foundation’s remaining virtual
journeys this fall (see below) as your favorite
tour guide Nick Gray whisks you
away to explore key California rivers and water
regions. Each tour will run from 2:30-5:30 p.m.
PT and includes:
An overview presentation of the region’s
critical topics
A guided video tour of key locations — farms,
wetlands, dams and reservoirs, wildlife habitats — to gain a
stronger understanding on a variety of water supply issues and
the latest policy developments
Live Q&A with experts in chat rooms so
participants can dive deeper into the topics, including the
drought gripping California.
As we wind down 2021 at the Water Education Foundation, we are
hosting a few more educational events and fun virtual journeys to
boost your water knowledge.
Water Summit, Oct. 28:
Despite the deluge of rain sparked
by an atmospheric river in Northern California this week, the
state is still gripped by an unprecedented drought.
Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water
Resources, and others will discuss how the drought has impacted
wildlife, farms, cities and more at our Water Summit on
Thursday, and explore what longer-term projects and
partnerships are aiming to make the state more drought resilient.
Click here
to find out more and register for
Thursday’s Water Summit virtual forum and the optional
in-person reception cruise aboard an open-air yacht on the
Sacramento River. Foundation members get discounted prices
to attend.
Karla Nemeth, director of the
California Department of Water Resources, will be among the
speakers at our Water
Summitvirtual forum next week to examine
what’s being done to get through a drought once again gripping
California and explore some of the creative efforts and
collaborations being developed to address the challenges
moving forward.
Our annual premier event, with the theme Pivoting
Today’s Pain into Tomorrow’s Gain, is hosted this year
as an engaging virtual experience on the afternoon of
Oct. 28, followed by an optional in-person
reception. The forum will feature a broad spectrum of
perspectives from across the state, including Nemeth, who will
detail current on-the-ground impacts of the drought and the
efforts being taken in the short-term to navigate through
it.
Applications are now available for
our yearlong Water
Leaders class.
One of our most popular programs, the Water Leaders class is
aimed at providing a deeper understanding of California
water issues and building leadership skills with class members by
studying a water-related topic in-depth and working with a
mentor.
The Water Education Foundation has won a national award for its innovative partnership with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to train schoolteachers across the state on climate science and how they can bring hands-on activities into their classrooms connected to local examples of climate change impacts.
The award was presented today by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and The Climate Registry during their virtual Climate Leadership Series and Awards Showcase, Oct. 13-15. The Climate Leadership Awards is a national program that recognizes exemplary corporate, organizational and individual leadership in response to climate change. In all, 24 organizations nationwide were honored this year.
Learn about the drought now plaguing
California and steps being taken to abate the impacts at our
annual Water Summit
later this month, and gain a deeper understanding of the
state’s biggest watershed relied on by millions for drinking
water during our Northern California
Tour this Thursday.
Register now for next week’s virtual
Northern
California Tour on Oct. 14 to explore the
Sacramento River and its tributaries and learn about issues
associated with a key source for the state’s water supply,
including the drought now gripping California.
During the afternoon online event, you’ll visit rice farms and
wetlands in the Sacramento Valley and hear from farmers and
environmentalists about efforts to restore runs of endangered
chinook salmon and help birds along the Pacific Flyway. You’ll
also get up close to Oroville Dam, a key component of the State
Water Project, and learn how its two spillways were repaired
following a catastrophic 2017 storm, and visit other major
infrastructure such as Shasta Dam, part of the federal Central
Valley Project. In addition, you’ll visit the area being eyed for
the proposed Sites Reservoir. Seating on the virtual “tour
bus” is limited, so get your ticket
here.
