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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There is no need to wait to show
your love for the Water Education Foundation! Starting today, you
can donate to our Big Day of Giving campaign and help us reach
our fundraising goal of $15,000 by May 2.
Big Day of Giving is a 24-hour online fundraising marathon
for nonprofits. Donations will benefit our programs and
publications across California and the
West.
The Foundation’s Central Valley Tour at
the end of April is nearing capacity and while there’s still some
space on the tour, there’s another very exciting opportunity
on the horizon this summer to engage directly with
groundwater experts from California and across the world.
The Foundation’s Bay-Delta Tour in May
has already sold out, so don’t miss out on the remaining
opportunities this spring and summer to visit important regions
in the state’s water story firsthand and engage directly
with water experts in California and from across the world.
Central Valley Tour: April 24-26
NEARING CAPACITY!
Only a few seats remain on the bus for our Central Valley
Tour that travels the length of the San Joaquin
Valley to explore the challenges of sustaining one of the
nation’s most productive agricultural regions. Participants will
visit farms and some of the state’s major infrastructure, such as
Friant Dam and San Luis Reservoir, as well as the San Luis
National Wildlife Refuge, a major wintering ground and migratory
stopover point for large concentrations of waterfowl and
shorebirds. Register here before
tickets are gone!
Thirteen early
to mid-career water professionals from across the West have
been chosen to participate in the Water Education
Foundation’s 2024 Colorado River Water
Leaders cohort.
Like our California Water
Leaders program, the Colorado River Water
Leaders cohort includes engineers, lawyers, resource
specialists, scientists and others working for
public, private and nongovernmental organizations from
across the river’s basin in the United States and
Mexico. The 2024 cohort roster can be found
here.
Spring is a busy time at the Water Education
Foundation! Don’t miss these upcoming opportunities to visit
important regions in the state’s water story firsthand and
engage directly with water experts in California and across the
world. Plus, you can meet our team in person at our
annual open house to learn more about how
we educate and foster understanding of California’s most precious
natural resource — water!
Water 101 Workshop: April 5
Last call to register for our
Water
101 Workshop, an annual daylong course on California
water hosted at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento! View an agenda here for our popular workshop
that details the history, geography and the legal and political
facets of water in California. Plus, workshop participants are
invited to grab one of the few remaining seats on the
optional groundwater tour April 4. Find more details and
register
here by this Friday, March 29!
As our programs team at the Water
Education Foundation organizes annual events like next week’s
Water 101 Workshop, our journalism team raises water awareness
daily through Aquafornia, our water newsfeed that
helps you stay current.
Our journalists – Nick
Cahill, Chris Bowman,
Alastair
Bland and Jenn Bowles – have
covered water-related news for years, making them ideal curators
of the most important and interesting water stories from around
California and the West.
With National
Groundwater Awareness
Week approaching and 2024 marking the
10ᵗʰ anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in
California, these Water Education Foundation tours and events
will help you gain a deeper understanding of groundwater
fundamentals and the work being done to bring aquifers into
balance. Seating is limited and tickets are going
fast!
Don’t miss a once-a-year
opportunity to attend our Water 101
Workshop on April 5 to gain a deeper understanding
of California’s most precious natural resource.
One of our most popular events, the daylong workshop at
McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento offers anyone new to
California water issues or newly elected to a water district
board — and really anyone who wants a refresher — a chance to
gain a solid statewide grounding on California’s water resources.
Some of state’s leading policy and legal experts are on the
agenda for the workshop that details
the historical, legal and political facets of water management in
the state, including:
We’ve expanded our
digital Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta library. You can now
virtually visit the Delta by watching a series of short videos
that show its multiple dimensions: a hub of California’s
water supply, an agricultural cornucopia, a water playground and
a haven for fish and other wildlife.
Water management at the local level
in California increasingly requires a firm grasp of issues across
the state, so take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to
attend our Water 101
Workshop on April 5 and gain a
deeper understanding of the history, hydrology and law
behind California’s most precious natural resource.
Top policy and legal experts will be presenting at our annual
workshop held at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, with an
optional groundwater tour the day before.
Two new members were elected to the
Water Education Foundation Board of Directors, joining a
diverse cross-section of water supply, business,
environmental, agricultural and public interest
organizations that governs the impartial nonprofit based in
Sacramento.
In addition, two veteran board members were elevated to the
Executive Committee, joining Board President Terry
Fulp, former director of the Bureau of
Reclamation’s Lower Colorado River region, and Treasurer
JaNell
Cook of HDR Inc. Eric
Robinson, managing shareholder of Kronick Moskovitz
Tiedemann & Girard, became Vice President and Ane Deister,
executive director of the Urban Water Institute, was elected
Secretary.
Twenty early
to mid-career water professionals from across California
have been chosen for the 2024 William R. Gianelli Water
Leaders cohort, the Water Education Foundation’s highly
competitive and respected leadership program.
The cohort includes engineers, lawyers, resource
specialists, scientists and others from a range of public and
private entities and nongovernmental organizations. The
roster for the 2024 class can be found
here.
One of the Foundation’s most popular
events, our daylong Water
101 Workshop on April 5 offers a
once-a-year opportunity to gain a solid statewide grounding
of California’s most precious natural resource - whether you
are new to California water issues or just want a refresher.
Hosted at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, Water 101
covers the history, hydrology and law behind water
management in California and is taught by some of the state’s
leading policy and legal experts.
Join our team at the Water Education Foundation as a
programs
manager and help us carry out tours, workshops and
leadership programs across California and the West.
We have a full-time opening for an
enthusiastic and team-oriented programs manager with a
can-do attitude. A Sacramento-based nonprofit,
the Foundation has been a trusted source of water news and
educational programs for more than 45 years. We are looking for
someone to join our team who enjoys a dynamic work environment,
has a passion for water issues and possesses strong organization
and communication skills, both verbal and written.
Time is running out to apply for our biennial Colorado
River Water Leaders program! Applications
for the 2024 cohort are due Jan. 22, so be sure to
check out our application page where you can also get tips on
applying for the competitive program.
The Foundation’s 2024 calendar of events begins in March and
is packed with engaging tours, workshops and conferences
on key water topics in California and across the West.
Seating is limited and tickets go quickly for all our programs,
so don’t miss out!
Current Foundation member organizations receive access to
coveted sponsorships opportunities for our tours
and events, which are all prime networking opportunities for the
water professionals in attendance! Contact
Kayla Sergent with membership status questions or
Nick Gray for more details on sponsorship.
Happy New Year to all the friends, supporters, readers and participants of tours and workshops! We’re grateful to each and every person who interacted with us in 2023.
As we turn the page to 2024, California marks the 10th anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Many of our events and tours this year will take a look at the progress made and the work that still needs to be done to bring aquifers into balance.
Apply for our 2024 Colorado River Water
Leaders program to deepen your knowledge
of the inconic Southwest river, build leadership
skills and develop policy ideas with a cohort to improve
management of the region’s most crucial natural resource.
Our biennial Water Leaders program, part of our Colorado River Project,
selects rising stars from the seven states that rely on
the river – Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada,
Utah and Wyoming.
Get an overview of the program and tips on applying by watching
this virtual Q&A
session. Applications are due Jan. 22,
2024 and you can find
application materials here along with mandatory
program dates.
“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 and Chair of the
Colorado River Board of California
Each year we update the itineraries for our annual water tours to provide you with the
latest developments in water policy, technology and research. The
Bay-Delta Tour, which
will be held on June 14 -16, will showcase several new speakers
and stories this year.
Registration now open for our annual Lower Colorado
River Tour
Get an overview and tips for applying to our Colorado
River Water Leaders program by Jan. 22
Read our latest Western Water story on
Southwestern cities looking to turn sewage into drinking water
Lower Colorado River Tour: March 13-15
Don’t miss the return of our
Lower
Colorado River Tour as we take you from Hoover
Dam to the U.S.-Mexico border and through the Imperial and
Coachella valleys to learn about the challenges and opportunities
facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest.”
Following the course of the lower Colorado River through Nevada,
Arizona and California, the tour explores infrastructure,
farming regions, wildlife refuges and the Salton Sea. Experts
discuss river issues, such as water needs, drought management,
endangered species and habitat restoration. Space is
limited & tickets go quickly soregister
here!
