Riverside, Calif. – “Keeping Our Cool” will be the focus of hundreds of Santa Ana River watershed decision-makers, who will gather at the sixth annual Santa Ana River Watershed Conference to discuss the next chapter of water resources challenges and together generate a vision statement to help guide future choices.

The Oct. 14 conference is convened by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) and coordinated by the Water Education Foundation. The event will be held at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside.

The Santa Ana River watershed has gained local, regional and state recognition for its stakeholder communities’ working together to address water resource issues. For the future, the region can continue to thrive by working together and looking forward, said Celeste Cantú, general manager of SAWPA.

“There can be no stationarity. We must be adaptive and keep all options open,” Cantú said. “Our regional planning has served us well. We can continue to thrive even through tough times by working together.”

At the conference, SAWPA will announce the adoption of the One Water One Watershed (OWOW) 2.0 Plan for the Santa Ana River watershed. This plan identifies new implementation projects and programs that will address the water resource challenges facing the region.

Amid a conference day packed with interactive panels and discussions, a host of water experts will participate in a moderated session to create a regional vision statement in line with OWOW. Moderator Steve PonTell, president of the La Jolla Institute and strategic consultant, will be joined by city and county representatives to discuss future scenarios of how the region might handle water supply based on population growth, climate, economics and health factors.

The vision statement, crafted with input from conference participants, will provide inspiration for ways of doing business that ensure clean, reliable water for people and the environment in western Riverside, southwestern San Bernardino and northern Orange counties.

Top sponsors of the event include Inland Empire Utilities Agency, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

The Santa Ana River watershed drains a 2,650 square-mile area in Southern California and is home to six million people. Like elsewhere throughout the state, the watershed is facing challenges to ensure a sufficient, high-quality water supply for the ever-growing population of the region. SAWPA works with planners, water experts, design and construction engineers, and other government agencies to identify issues and solutions, and then uses innovation to resolve many water-related problems.

The Oct. 14 conference will be held at the Riverside Convention Center, 3637 5th Street in Riverside from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m.  

For more information, visit www.watereducation.org/sawpa2014 or contact the Water Education Foundation at (916) 444-6240. Sponsorships and vendor spaces are available. Contact Jean Nordmann. Event registration fee is $130 (includes lunch).