Announcements

The application window is now open for our Colorado River Water Leaders program, which will run from March to September next year.

Our biennial program, part of our Colorado River Project, is patterned after our highly successful California Water Leaders program and selects rising stars from the seven states that rely on the river - California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – to take part in a cohort.

During the seven-month program designed for working professionals, the cohort members explore issues surrounding the iconic Southwest river, deepen their water knowledge and build leadership skills. 

“I highly recommend the program to emerging water leaders. The program’s immersive experience, relationship building and mentorship opportunities cultivate leadership and collaborative skills crucial for addressing complex challenges faced by all those who rely upon the Colorado River now and into the future.”

– JB Hamby, Class of ‘22 & Chair of the Colorado River Board of California

Kurtis Alexander, an enterprise reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle with a focus on natural resources and the environment, was named the 2023 recipient of the Water Education Foundation’s Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism.

Alexander said he was honored to receive the award, which acknowledges outstanding work that illuminates complicated water issues in California and the West.

“Recognition from one of the state’s top authorities on water really means something,” Alexander said. “Covering water as a journalist is not always glamorous or easy. But the Water Education Foundation has long helped promote the work of journalists and others examining water issues as well as offered a wealth of helpful information through its website, newsletters and education programs.”

The tribal policy advisor for California’s water management agency will be the keynote speaker for our Oct. 25 Water Summit in Sacramento.

The event’s full agenda can be viewed here featuring engaging panel discussions focused on our theme, Taking on the Improbable in Western Water.

In this Issue: Water leader applications for 2024 will be coming out soon! And don’t forget to join us at our annual Water Summit Oct. 25 when we’ll be talking about taking on the improbable; and check out our latest Western Water article about a little-known change in law that will benefit groundwater in California.

​You can now register for the Water Education Foundation’s 39th annual Water Summit. The one-day conference will have leading policymakers and experts sharing the latest information and insights on water in California and the West. The event includes an evening reception for networking with speakers and fellow attendees from a variety of backgrounds.

The bus is nearly full for our special, one-time only Eastern Sierra Tour September 12-15 that will journey from the Truckee, Carson and Walker river basins to Mono Lake and on through Owens Valley to explore, in part, a major water source for Southern California.

Registration has only been open for a few weeks and the buses are already nearing capacity for our fall tours along the Eastern Sierra and across Northern California! See below for more details and reserve your spot soon for both don’t-miss, firsthand experiences before they’re gone. Plus, mark your calendars now for our Water Summit in Sacramento, the Foundation’s premier annual event.

Don’t miss your opportunity to hop aboard our Headwaters Tour later this month as we head into the Sierra Nevada to learn about upper watersheds and the critical role they play in both water supply and quality across California.

Plus, mark your calendars now for our fall programs, including:

Our Headwaters Tour June 21-22 will take you into the Sierra Nevada to explore the impacts of this year’s historically large snowpack, reported at well over 200% of average. Remaining seats are limited so don’t miss your chance to examine water issues happening upstream that have dramatic effects throughout the state.

What exactly is an ‘average’ snowpack and how is it measured? How are those measurements then translated into forecasts of California’s water supply for the year, and is climate change making our reliance on historical patterns as a predictor obsolete? You’ll get an opportunity to learn about these topics directly from experts including Sean de Guzman, manager of the California Department of Water Resources Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit.