Announcements

Overview

Foundation News

Find out what the Water Education Foundation is up to with announcements about upcoming events, tours, new Western Water articles on key water topics and more! 

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Announcement

DWR to Offer Preview of IRWM Strategic Plan at this Week’s San Diego Conference
Also on the agenda: Frances Spivy-Weber to discuss mandatory state conversation regulations and the importance of regional planning

Attend the May 21-22 Integrated Regional Water Management conference for a sneak preview of recommended strategies from the Department of Water Resources for the future of IRWM in California, based on more than two years of interaction with IRWM practitioners and other stakeholders.

Headline issues related to drought, mandatory conservation and groundwater management also are on the agenda, which features a top lineup of speakers, including keynote speaker Fran Spivy-Weber, vice chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board.

Announcement

Top Policymakers from Multiple Agencies Discuss Governmental Alignment at Upcoming IRWM Conference
Also, check out DWR’s Tools Expo to learn more about IRWM strategies for the future, funding and more

How do you get multiple agencies with multiple missions on the same page when it comes to water? The importance of governmental alignment will be discussed by a panel of top policymakers at the Integrated Regional Water Management 2.0: The Next Generation conference in San Diego.

Speakers on this panel are:

  • Col. Mike Farrell, Commander, Sacramento District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • Gary Bardini, Deputy Director for Integrated Water Management, California Department of Water Resources
  • Gordon Burns, Undersecretary, California Environmental Protection Agency
  • Dennis Grossman, Senior Advisor for Environmental Science and Policy, California Strategic Growth Council
  • Norma Camacho, Chief Operating Officer: Watersheds, Santa Clara Valley Water District
  • David Bolland, Special Projects Manager, Association of California Water Agencies
Announcement

Get Early Bird Prices on Bay-Delta Tour
Learn about the project that Jerry Brown told critics to "shut up" about

Join us on our next tour June 24-26 as we visit the Bay-Delta, the heart of the state’s water system and the center of the water political debate. Early bird prices are available until May 24.

Gov. Jerry Brown, during a luncheon speech last week at the Association of California Water Agencies conference in Sacramento, told critics to “shut-up” if they hadn’t spent millions of hours studying the proposed plan to install two tunnels to divert water around the Delta to the south.

Announcement

Follow the Water Education Foundation on Social Media

You can keep up to date with events, tours and other comings and goings of the Water Education Foundation through social media.

We use our Twitter account @WaterEdFdn to keep you posted on our upcoming events and tours, and the top water stories from our week-day news aggregate known as Aquafornia. We also tweet and retweet breaking news throughout the day.

Announcement

Agenda Posted for May 21-22 IRWM Conference
Check out the lineup of key topics and informational panel discussions

The drought, groundwater management, coordinating governmental agencies, and Integrated Regional Water Management will be the focus of a May 21-22 conference in San Diego. Topics on the draft agenda include:

  • Making IRWM Even Stronger
  • Integrating Groundwater Sustainability Planning and IRWM
  • Finding Funding: Keeping IRWM Alive
  • Multiple Agencies, Multiple Missions: The Importance of Governmental Alignment
Announcement

Learn about California’s Farmland and Water Up Close
A few seats left on Central Valley Tour

With so much attention focused on California’s drought, water use and agriculture, join the Water Education Foundation’s Central Valley Tour to get an up-close view of the issues.

The Central Valley, often dubbed the nation’s breadbasket, is at the heart of our three-day tour beginning April 22. The tour also offers participants a chance to learn about groundwater, subsidence and habitat restoration as it weaves through key sites belonging to the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project, the state’s two major water delivery systems.

Announcement

Frances Spivy-Weber to be Keynote Speaker at Regional Water Management Conference
Register today for May 21-22 conference in San Diego

Frances Spivy-Weber, Vice Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, will be the keynote speaker at the May 21-22 Integrated Regional Water Management 2.0: The Next Generation conference in San Diego.

Other top speakers include:

  • Nancy Sutley, Chief Sustainability and Economic Development Officer for LADWP and formerly with the Obama administration
  • Gordon Burns, Undersecretary, California EPA
  • Maureen Stapleton, General Manager of the San Diego County Water Authority
  • Tracie Billington, Chief of the Financial Assistance Branch in DWR’s Division of IRWM
Announcement

Water-Saving Tips
Learn what you can do to save water at your home

With first-ever, statewide mandatory water conservation ordered across California, go to our Water Conservation Tips page to find ways to save water inside and outside of your house

On the same webpage, you can click open other water fact pages, such as our “Food Facts” page to see how much water is used to produce certain foods – from almonds to butter and a hamburger.

Announcement

See How Drought is Impacting the Nation’s Breadbasket
Upcoming Central Valley tour also features groundwater, subsidence and habitat restoration issues

As first-ever water restrictions are ordered in California, join the Water Education Foundation’s Central Valley Tour to see how the lack of rain and snow has impacted the heavily agricultural region.

Besides drought impacts, the three-day tour beginning April 22 offers participants a chance to see the hottest issues in water up close: Groundwater, subsidence and habitat restoration.

It also provides participants with a close-up look at the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project, the state’s two key water delivery systems.

Announcement

Integrated Regional Water Management 2.0: The Next Generation
May 21-22 Conference Set for San Diego

The role that integrated regional water management can play during the drought and in the state’s water future is the focus of a May 21-22 conference to be held in San Diego.

Integrated Regional Water Management 2.0: The Next Generation is cosponsored by the Water Education Foundation and the California Department of Water Resources in partnership with the IRWM Roundtable of Regions.

Announcement

Take Advantage of Early Bird Prices for 2015 Tours

The Water Education Foundation this year is offering early bird prices for all 2015 water tours.

The remaining tours with early bird prices are:

Announcement

Does the Salton Sea Have a Future?
Attend our Executive Briefing Wednesday to find out

Debate swirls around California’s largest inland lake, the Salton Sea, which sits at the heart of a major farm-to-city water transfer that allowed the state to stay within its allocation of the Colorado River.

Announcement

Learn About Implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
March 25 briefing to include discussion of DWR’s new, draft SGMA strategic plan

With the historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act now law – what’s next? Issues related to implementation at the state and regional levels will be the focus of a panel discussion at the Foundation’s March 25 Executive Briefing in Sacramento.

Hear what’s in the Department of Water Resources’ recently released draft strategic plan identifying actions that need to be taken to help local agencies achieve sustainable groundwater management from Dan McManus, regional planning branch chief at DWR. Regional, on-the-ground activities will be discussed by executive director of the Regional Water Authority and Sacramento Groundwater Authority.

Announcement

Join Us on the April 22-24 Central Valley Tour
Early bird registration discounts end Monday

Sign-ups are underway for the Foundation’s April 22-24 Central Valley Water Tour, which focuses on San Joaquin Valley water issues. The tour begins and ends at Sacramento International Airport after a fast-paced trek down the west side of the valley and back up the east side.

Stops include San Luis Reservoir, the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, Westlands Water District, the Tulare Lake Basin, Kern Water Bank, the Kings River, Friant Dam and the San Joaquin River.

Announcement

Learn About “Living Within Our Means”
Long-term Water Management Featured Topic at March 25 Executive Briefing

The multi-year drought is the leading news story this year as water managers confront low reservoirs, reduced instream flows, water supply cutbacks, and the need for increased customer conservation. But even when this drought ends, many of these management challenges will not.

Experts say the effects of climate change, population growth and other factors will result in needing to further stretch supplies to meet future demands. Long-term management is the key.

Announcement

Attend the Most Provocative Water Conference this Spring
Groundwater, drought, the Delta and more to be discussed at March 25 Executive Briefing

If you only have time to attend one water conference this spring this is THE event to attend: the Water Education Foundation’s March 25 Executive Briefing in Sacramento.

Consider the lineup of top speakers (just to name a few):

  • DWR Director Mark Cowin
  • Principal Deputy Assistant Interior Secretary Jennifer Gimbel
  • Cal-EPA Undersecretary Gordon Burns
  • Deputy Resources Secretary Karla Nemeth
  • Delta Vision Foundation President Sunne McPeak
  • California Water Foundation Executive Director Lester Snow
Announcement

Registration Open for Spring Events Highlighting Drought, Groundwater

Our 2015 spring event season is underway with a line-up of top speakers and key water issues, such as groundwater and drought, on the agendas. Each event is linked to a page with more details and an online registration form. Some events are free but seating is limited so register soon.

Announcement

New Western Water Magazine Available: Is California’s Water Supply Resilient and Sustainable?

In the January/February issue of Western Water Magazine, Writer Gary Pitzer delves into the notion of a “sustainable” and “resilient” water supply.

His article highlights what sustainability and resiliency mean to a state in the middle of a drought and with a growing population and water needs that stretch from bustling cities in the north and south to the rich agricultural fields of the Central, Imperial and Coachella valleys and Central Coast.

Announcement

Mark Cowin and Jennifer Gimbel to Speak at March 25 Briefing
Hot topics to be discussed include drought, the water bond and the new groundwater management act

Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources, and Jennifer Gimbel, principal deputy assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of the Interior, will headline a lineup of top speakers at the Water Education Foundation’s March 25 Executive Briefing.

Announcement

Free drought briefing set for March 19
Event at CSU Fresno is cosponsored by the California Department of Water Resources

Learn about how current hydrologic conditions are affecting water project operations and conditions in the Delta and the actions being taken in response to balance impacts to cities, farms, and the environment at “Challenges of the 2015 Drought: Water Project Operations” March 19 in Fresno.

Cosponsored by DWR and the Foundation in cooperation with the Center for Irrigation Technology at CSU Fresno, this one-day event will feature speakers from the state and federal agencies.