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:
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.
There’s still time for K-12
educators in the Sacramento region to sign up for an Oct. 3
workshop exploring activities to engage students in the study
of local watersheds and their connections to the Pacific
Ocean.
The workshop is part of Project WET (now called Water Education
Today), an international, award-winning nonprofit water
education program and publisher of materials geared toward K-12
educators. The Water Education Foundation is the coordinator for
Project WET in California.
Register here by
Sept. 25 for the Oct. 3 workshop that includes an online
study at your own pace and a socially distanced field trip
at the Effie Yeaw
Nature Center along the American River. Cost is $18.00 (plus
a nominal Eventbrite fee) and includes a copy of the
Project WET 2.0 and Aquatic WILD guides.
Practically every drop of water that flows through the meadows, canyons and plains of the Colorado River Basin has reams of science attached to it. Snowpack, streamflow and tree ring data all influence the crucial decisions that guide water management of the iconic Western river every day.
Dizzying in its scope, detail and complexity, the scientific information on the Basin’s climate and hydrology has been largely scattered in hundreds of studies and reports. Some studies may conflict with others, or at least appear to. That’s problematic for a river that’s a lifeline for 40 million people and more than 4 million acres of irrigated farmland.
Our popular Layperson’s Guide
to the Delta has just been updated to reflect the
latest information about efforts to reconcile ecosystem needs of
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with its role as California’s
vital water delivery hub as well as its place as an important
agricultural region and a popular recreation destination.
The Delta is the largest freshwater tidal estuary on the West
Coast and is a unique resource and distinct feature of Northern
California’s landscape. The water that flows through the Delta
provides a significant portion of drinking water for more than 29
million Californians, serves a $50 billion agricultural industry,
is home to native and nonnative plants and animals and is a
crucial part of the state’s two largest surface water delivery
systems – the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley
Project.
Colorado is home to the headwaters
of the Colorado River and the water policy decisions made in the
Centennial State reverberate throughout the river’s sprawling
basin that stretches south to California, Arizona and Mexico.
The task of working with interstate partners to address the
challenges of the Colorado River Basin while balancing competing
water demands within the state of Colorado rests largely with
Becky Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation
Board.
In the
latest article in Western Water, Mitchell
talked about her state’s plan to address an expected water supply
shortfall, climate risks and the prospects for future Colorado
River operations as the river system deals with prolonged
drought.
Colorado is home to the headwaters
of the Colorado River and the water policy decisions made in the
Centennial State reverberate throughout the river’s sprawling
basin that stretches south to Mexico. The stakes are huge in a
basin that serves 40 million people, and responding to the water
needs of the economy, productive agriculture, a robust
recreational industry and environmental protection takes
expertise, leadership and a steady hand.
Sprawled across a desert expanse
along the Utah-Arizona border, Lake Powell’s 100-foot high
bathtub ring etched on its sandstone walls belie the challenges
of a major Colorado River reservoir at less than half-full.
Recent studies point to warmer and drier conditions ahead, with
reduced runoff into the Colorado River. Meanwhile, the Upper
Basin is looking to use more of its share of the river’s waters.
On the horizon is a rewrite of the operating guidelines for the
river, and already there is talk about how changes to those
guidelines could affect Lake Powell, a key reservoir in the
Colorado River system.
The latest article in Western Water explores the
different concerns being raised around the Colorado River Basin
and how the river’s challenges could play out in Powell’s future.
Our daily news aggregation known as
Aquafornia keeps you up-to-date on the
most pressing water issues in California and across the West.
Now, it features a special COVID-19
news feed where you can find articles related to coronavirus
and water, such as efforts to get federal funding to help
struggling ratepayers, tracking the virus through wastewater
and addressing water systems as people head back to work.
Sprawled across a desert expanse
along the Utah-Arizona border, Lake Powell’s nearly 100-foot high
bathtub ring etched on its sandstone walls belie the challenges
of a major Colorado River reservoir at less than half-full. How
those challenges play out as demand grows for the river’s water
amid a changing climate is fueling simmering questions about
Powell’s future.
Our special COVID-19 webpage dedicated to providing ideas for teaching online or at home now includes a newsfeed where you can find the latest coronavirus-related water news.
To access the latest COVID-19 water news, click on our special page and scroll down to Stay in the Know.
In response to updated COVID-19 public health guidelines, the Water Education Foundation has further adjusted our 2020 in-person programming schedule to ensure the safety and health of our partners, event attendees and staff.
Voluntary agreements in California
have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve
environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows
and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be
diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state
regulators.
The bill is coming due, literally,
to protect and restore groundwater in California.
Local agencies in the most depleted groundwater basins in
California spent months putting together plans to show how they
will achieve balance in about 20 years.
The Water Education Foundation appreciates your understanding as we continue to closely monitor COVID-19 developments and adjust our 2020 programming to ensure the safety and health of our partners, event attendees and staff.
With that said, our 2020 Water Summit is still on for Sept. 24 in Sacramento, so save the date! Our annual premier event will feature key policymakers, stakeholders and experts providing the latest information and viewpoints on issues affecting water across California and the West.
Join us May 7 for a “virtual” open
house to learn more about how we are educating and fostering
understanding of California’s most precious natural resource -
water – through the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the open house, you can chat with our staff about our
water tours, conferences, maps, publications, and training
programs for teachers and up-and-coming water industry
professionals. You’ll also be able to learn more about how you
can support our work.
William R. Gianelli, the Water
Education Foundation’s second president and a leading figure in
California water during construction of the State Water Project,
died March 30, 2020, in Monterey County. He was 101.
Mr. Gianelli was president of the Foundation from 1985-1989 and
made a major financial donation that helped the Foundation create
an educational program for young professionals from diverse
backgrounds, which was named the William
R. “Bill” Gianelli Water Leaders Class in his honor. The
year-long program began in 1997 and now includes more than 400
graduates.
The islands of the western
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta release tons of carbon dioxide — a
greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere as the rich peat soil that
attracted generations of farmers dries out and decays.
An ambitious plan now in the works could halt the decay,
sequester the carbon and — just as important — help protect
California’s vital water conveyance system by offering farmers
and landowners an incentive to change how they use their land.
The
latest article in Western Water explores how the
plan would work, looks at the concerns of some in agriculture,
and talks with one farmer who’s willing to give it a try.
Weave through the nation’s
breadbasket and gain a better understanding of water issues
and challenges in the San Joaquin Valley on the Foundation’s
Central Valley Tour
April 22-24.
This tour visits farms and major infrastructure, such as
Friant Dam near Fresno and San Luis Reservoir, the nation’s
largest off-stream reservoir near Los Banos and a key water
facility serving both the State Water Project and the federal
Central Valley Project.
The 2020 Anne J. Schneider Lecture,
which encourages professional and personal commitment to water
law and policy and the conservation of our special landscapes,
will feature two distinguished speakers: Jennifer Harder, an
associate professor at the McGeorge School of Law, and Brian
Gray, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California’s Water Policy Center and professor emeritus at UC
Hastings College of the Law.
The islands of the western
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are sinking as the rich peat soil
that attracted generations of farmers dries out and decays. As
the peat decomposes, it releases tons of carbon dioxide – a
greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere. As the islands sink, the
levees that protect them are at increasing risk of failure, which
could imperil California’s vital water conveyance system.
An ambitious plan now in the works could halt the decay,
sequester the carbon and potentially reverse the sinking.
The Water Education Foundation’s tours offer participants a
first-hand look at the water facilities, rivers and regions
critical in the debate about the future of water resources.
From recent news articles to publications, maps and tours, Water
Education Foundation has everything you need, including the
award-winning Layperson’s Guide to the Delta.
