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Overview Jenn Bowles

About Us

Who We Are

Facing the challenges of sustainably managing and sharing water, our most precious natural resource, requires collaboration, education and outreach. Since 1977, the Water Education Foundation has put water resource issues in California and the West in context to inspire a deep understanding of and appreciation for water. 

Taking a steady pulse of the water world, the Foundation offers educational materials, tours of key watersheds, water news, water leadership training and conferences that bring together diverse voices. By providing tools and platforms for engagement with wide audiences, we aim to help build sound and collective solutions to water issues.

What We Do

We support and execute a wide variety of programming to build a better understanding of water resources across the West, including:

Why Water?

Mission: The mission of the Water Education Foundation, an impartial nonprofit, is to inspire understanding of water and catalyze critical conversations to build bridges and inform collaborative decision-making 

Vision: A society that has the ability to resolve its water challenges to benefit all

Where We Work

Our office is located in Sacramento, CA.

Connect with Us!

Sign up here to get email announcements about upcoming workshops, tours and new publications.

You can learn more about the daily comings and goings of the Foundation by following @WaterEdFdn on Twitter, liking us on Facebook or following us on LinkedIn.

Announcement

Water Education Foundation Honors SJV Water Founder & Journalist Lois Henry
Henry is third recipient of Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism

Lois Henry, a journalist who launched SJV Water as a nonprofit news site devoted to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, was named the 2024 recipient of the Water Education Foundation’s Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism.

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

“I’m grateful and humbled to receive this recognition,” Henry said. “Water is such an arcane and politically rife topic. We really strive to explain what’s happening in layman’s terms and walk an unbiased line. So, it’s exciting to know our work has hit the mark and provided value to our readers.”

Announcement

Last Call for Tickets to Oct. 30 Water Summit & Coveted Sponsor Spots
Registration Closes Friday for Foundation's Premier Annual Event

Registration closes Friday for our 2024 Water Summit, set for next Wednesday, Oct. 30, in downtown Sacramento with conversations focused on our theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western Water.

Get your ticket to our premier annual event by Friday at 5 p.m. Foundation members can take advantage of a $100 discount on registration!

LAST CALL FOR SPONSORS! This event is a prime networking opportunity for the water professionals in attendance and general sponsorship opportunities are still available, but this Thursday is the deadline to grab a coveted sponsor spot! View details of the various sponsorship levels and benefits here.

Announcement

Join Folks From Across the Water Community at our Water Summit Plus Hear From Water Artists & Celebrate Our Water Journalist of the Year

Our Water Summit on Oct. 30 will take a deep dive on issues critical to our most precious natural resource in the West but it’s so much more.

During our event, you’ll also have a chance to network with people from across the water community from municipal water agencies to irrigation districts, farming and lending organizations to state and federal agencies that manage or regulate water to environmental and other nonprofit organizations.

Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, will deliver the opening keynote and participants will be treated later in the day to a presentation by visual artists whose work seeks to expand perspectives on how we relate to water.

Announcement

Water Leader Apps Now Available for 2025 Cohort; Agenda Posted for Water Summit, Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available

2025 Water Leader Applications Now Open

Are you an up-and-coming leader in the water world? Applications are now available for our 2025 California Water Leaders cohort, and are due no later than Dec. 5, 2024.

If interested in applying, start by checking out the program requirements. Make sure you have the time to commit to the program next year and approval from your organization to apply.

Announcement

Speaker List Grows for Oct. 30 Water Summit in Sacramento
Exclusive Sponsorship Opportunities Still Available; Last Call for Northern California Tour

Northern California Tour Nearly Sold Out!

Only a few seats are left on the bus for our Northern California Tour on Oct. 16-18 that explores the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Redding with visits to Oroville and Shasta dams!

Don’t miss this scenic journey through riparian woodland, rice fields, nut orchards and wildlife refuges while learning from experts about the history of the Sacramento River. Grab your ticket here before they’re gone!

Announcement

DWR Director Karla Nemeth to Keynote Water Summit; Application Window Opens Soon for 2025 California Water Leaders

Visit Shasta & Oroville Dams; Learn about Park Fire Impacts Firsthand during NorCal Tour

Only a few seats are left on the bus for our Northern California Tour October 16-18 that journeys across the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Redding with visits to Oroville and Shasta dams!

New Tour Stop! This year’s tour includes a stop at Battle Creek where participants will learn firsthand how the Park Fire, California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record, could push already threatened Chinook salmon populations closer to extinction by burning through tributaries to the Sacramento River that provide critical spawning habitat.

Don’t miss this scenic journey through riparian woodland, rice fields, nut orchards and wildlife refuges while learning from experts about the history of the Sacramento River. Grab your ticket here before they’re gone!

Announcement

Seize a Coveted Sponsor Spot for Oct. 30 Water Summit; Claim One of the Few Remaining Seats on October NorCal Tour

Water Summit: Exclusive Sponsorship Opportunities Available

In case you missed the news last week, you can now register for the Water Education Foundation’s 40ᵗʰ annual Water Summit to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Sacramento, with the theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western Water.

Announcement

Registration Now Open for Annual Water Summit
One-day conference on Oct. 30 is the Foundation's premier annual event; Grab one of the last tickets for Northern California Tour

Water Summit: October 30

You can now register for the Water Education Foundation’s 40ᵗʰ annual Water Summit! The one-day conference will feature leading policymakers and experts sharing the latest information and insights on water in California and the West. The event includes lunch and an evening reception for networking with speakers and fellow attendees from a variety of backgrounds.

The Water Summit will be held Wednesday, Oct. 30, in Sacramento, with the theme, Reflecting on Silver Linings in Western Water. Speakers and conversations will focus on the promising advances that have developed from myriad challenges faced in managing the West’s most precious natural resource.

Announcement

Plan Now to Attend our Popular Fall Programs; Sign Up for our Weekday Water Newsfeed
Seats Going Fast for Northern California Tour; Registration for Annual Water Summit Opens Soon

It may be the dog days of summer but it’s a busy time at the Water Education Foundation as we prep for our fall events! 

  • Space is becoming limited for one of our most popular water excursions, the three-day Northern California Tour in mid-October.
  • Registration opens in just a few weeks for our premier annual event, the Water Summit, on Oct. 30 in Sacramento. Make sure you’re among the first to know this year’s theme by signing up for Foundation announcements.
  • While you’re signing up for announcements, you can also sign up for our weekday water newsfeed known as Aquafornia to help you stay in the know.
Announcement

Registration Now Open for Popular Northern California Tour; Join our Team as Operations Manager
Journey into the Sierra Nevada on our Headwaters Tour; Save the Date for our Annual Water Summit

Registration Now Open for Northern California Tour: October 16-18

Registration is now open for our popular Northern California Tour October 16-18, and seats always fill quickly! This 3-day, 2-night excursion across the Sacramento Valley travels north from Sacramento to Oroville, Redding and Shasta Lake.

Announcement

July Headwaters Tour Filling Up Quickly; Save The Dates for Water Summit, NorCal Tour in the Fall
Our 2023 Annual Report is Hot Off the Press!; Last Call for June International Groundwater Conference

As we head into summer, don’t miss your chance to explore the statewide impact of forest health on water resources in July and be sure to mark your calendars for our popular fall programming!

  • Northern California Tour, October 16-18: Explore the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply. Registration opens June 12!
  • Water Summit, October 30: Attend the Water Education Foundation’s premier annual event hosted in Sacramento with leading policymakers and experts addressing critical water issues in California and across the West. More details coming soon!
Announcement

Journalist & Author Mark Arax to Provide Keynote Address at 3ʳᵈ International Groundwater Conference in June
Unique Gathering in San Francisco to Examine Groundwater Science & Policy in Agricultural Regions Worldwide

Mark Arax, an award-winning journalist and author of books chronicling agriculture and water issues in California’s Central Valley, will provide the keynote talk at an international groundwater conference next month.

The event, Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture: The 3ʳᵈ International Conference Linking Science & Policy, returns to San Francisco June 18-20 for the first time since 2016 and will highlight advances on sustaining groundwater in agricultural regions across California and around the world.

View the draft program and register while space is available, including the free pre-conference workshops on Monday, June 17.

Announcement

International Conference to Address Groundwater Challenges and Successes in Agricultural Regions
Grab a Coveted Sponsor or Exhibitor Spot at this Unique Gathering in San Francisco

Groundwater basins in California and across the world are the source for much of the water that grows our food. But many challenges come with groundwater: Keeping use sustainable, nitrate contamination and impacts from climate change.

The world’s top scientists, policymakers and experts will be addressing these topics June 18-20 in San Francisco at the  3ʳᵈ International Groundwater Conference Linking Science & Policy, along with the latest advancements on groundwater demand management, conjuctive use, managed aquifer recharge, groundwater governance and emerging artificial intelligence resources related to groundwater and agriculture.

Learn more about the topics by viewing the draft program here.

Announcement

There’s Still Time to Support Your Favorite Water Nonprofit on Big Day of Giving
You have until midnight to donate!

Big Day of Giving is nearly over but you still have until midnight to support the Water Education Foundation’s tours, workshops, publications and other programs with a donation to help us reach our $15,000 fundraising goal - we are only $6,405 away!

At the Foundation, we believe that education is as precious as water. Your donations help us every day to teach K-12 educators how to bring water science into the classroom and to empower future decision-makers through our professional development programs.

Our portfolio of programs reach many people and in many different ways:

Announcement

Big Day of Giving is Here! Make a BIG Splash for Water Education with a Donation
And join us today from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. for our open house

Today is Big Day of Giving! Your donation will help the Water Education Foundation continue its work to enhance public understanding of our most precious natural resource in in California and across the West – water.

Big Day of Giving is a 24-hour regional fundraising event that has profound benefits for our educational programs and publications on drought, floods, groundwater, and the importance of headwaters in California and the Colorado River Basin.

Your tax-deductible donation of any size helps support our tours, scholarships, teacher training workshops, free access to our daily water newsfeed and more. You have until midnight to help us reach our $15,000 fundraising goal!

Donate here by midnight!
Announcement

Support Your Favorite Water Nonprofit Today on Big Day of Giving!

We are midway through Big Day of Giving, a 24-hour regional fundraising event that benefits our tours, workshops and publications that educate about floods, drought, groundwater, climate change and more!

You have until midnight to make a donation that will help keep the Water Education Foundation as a go-to resource for in-depth, impartial information about water in California and the West.

If you have had the amazing opportunity to attend one of our water tours, enjoyed reading our Western Water articles, or have purchased any of our beautiful water maps or Layperson’s Guides, you can show your appreciation by helping us reach our $15,000 goal!

Donate here on our campaign page. We have $7,931 to go!

Announcement

Registration Open for July Headwaters Tour; Support Our Work on the Big Day of Giving; All Water Maps on Sale!
Grab a Coveted Sponsor or Exhibitor Spot at International Groundwater Conference

Make a Splash with a Big Day of Giving Gift!

Big Day of Giving is just around the corner! Your donation helps support scholarships for our tours, events & workshops, expand Project WET teacher trainings throughout California, provide free public access to our Western Water news coverage, updates to our Layperson’s Guides and more!

Donate today or anytime through May 2 to help us reach our fundraising goal of $15,000!

Announcement

Early ‘Big Day of Giving’ Begins Today!
SUPPORT OUR WATER TOURS, PUBLICATIONS AND MORE; ATTEND OUR OPEN HOUSE MAY 2

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.

Announcement

International Groundwater Conference Returns to San Francisco for First Time Since 2016
Grab a Coveted Sponsor or Exhibitor Spot at this Unique Gathering about Groundwater and Agriculture

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.