The Water Summit is the Water Education Foundation’s premier event of the year, with leading policymakers and experts addressing critical water issues in California and across the West.

The 2024 event was held Wednesday, October 30, at The Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento and included lunch and an evening reception to network with speakers and fellow attendees. Conversations revolved around this year’s theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western Water. Speakers and conversations focused on the promising advances that have developed from myriad challenges faced in managing the West’s most precious natural resource.

Speakers:

Among the speakers were Julie Rentner, President of River Partners; Robyn Grimm, Chief Executive Officer of the California Water Data Consortium; John Bednarski, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Interim Assistant General Manager of Water Resources & Technical Services; Adriana Renteria, Tribal Liaison for the State Water Resources Control Board; Heather Bischel, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at UC Davis; Steven Springhorn, Supervising Engineering Geologist at the California Department of Water Resources; Victoria Johnson, HDR’s Global Equity Director; Eva Dominguez, Assistant Director of Self-Help Enterprises; and Chelsea Haines, Regulatory Relations Manager for the Association of California Water Agencies.

The Water Summit’s keynote address was provided by Karla Nemeth, Director of California’s Department of Water Resources. Nemeth is focused on preparing California to adapt to more extreme weather under climate change by improving aging and green infrastructure, management of groundwater supplies and local water resilience.

You can view a draft of the full agenda here. Lively discussions focused on topics such as:

• The pivot to a wider array of water management strategies including floodplain restoration, groundwater recharge & more
• The development of improved monitoring of water resources and greater access to data
• The progress toward more inclusive approaches to water decisions while navigating recent water management challenges
• The intersection of art, research & water

Now in its 40th year, the Water Summit was an ideal event for water district managers and board members, state and federal agency officials, city and county government leaders, farmers, environmentalists, attorneys, consultants, engineers, business executives and public interest groups.

Exclusive Sponsorship Opportunities:

Why sponsor the Water Summit?

• Gain recognition for your organization at one of California’s premier water conferences, attended by decision-makers; water agency staff & board members; state & federal agency representatives; and many more
• Receive complimentary tickets to attend the event for members of your organization and/or your guests
• Enjoy several exclusive sponsor benefits including increased visibility during networking portions of the event

Exclusive sponsorships were available for the breaks, lunch and evening reception, all of which were prime networking opportunities for the water professionals in attendance. View details of the various sponsorship levels and benefits here.

Location & Timing Details:

Our 2024 Water Summit was hosted in person at The Sawyer Hotel, 500 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Check-in began at 9 a.m. and the program started at 9:30 a.m. The conference concluded with a networking reception, starting around 5 p.m.

Pricing Details:

Registration included refreshments and materials, gourmet lunch and a hosted reception.

Foundation members, either individual or organizational, received a $100 discount on registration for this event. Not a member of the Foundation? Become a member now to receive the registration discount in addition to all the great benefits of Foundation membership!

• General Admission: $395
• Foundation Member: $295

Lodging:

A variety of guest room options were available at The Sawyer Hotel as well as many other downtown hotel locations.

Continuing Education Credits:

MCLE credits were available only for California attorneys, for an additional fee, and may have been available for water/wastewater plant operators and other professionals.

Cancellation & Refund Policy:

Deadline to cancel and receive a refund was two weeks prior to the event. Substitutions were allowed up to three business days before the event. Eventbrite fees were nonrefundable and the remaining amount may have been subject to an additional processing fee.