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This week’s National Groundwater
Awareness Week is a reminder of just how important groundwater is
for nearly 85 percent of California’s residents who depend on it
for some portion of their supply. In all, groundwater quenches
some 40 percent of the state’s freshwater needs — even more in a
drought year like we’re having now.
With California diving deeper into a
drought, take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to attend
our Water
101 Workshop on April 8 and gain a
deeper understanding of the history, hydrology and law
behind California’s most precious natural resource.
And go beyond the headlines to learn more about the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, disadvantaged communities and the
latest on efforts to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act.
Register today for the return
of our most popular in-person tour, the Bay-Delta Tour May
18-20, and join us as we venture into the most
critical and controversial water region in California, the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The 720,000-acre network of islands and channels supports
the state’s two large water systems – the State Water Project and
the federal Central Valley Project – and together with the San
Francisco Bay is an important ecological resource. You’ll learn
firsthand how the drought is affecting water quality and supply
that serves local farms, cities and habitat. Much of
the water also heads south via canals and aqueducts to provide
drinking water for more than 27 million Californians and
irrigation to about 3 million acres of farmland that helps feed
the nation.
Once uncountably numerous, the
native Delta smelt since 2016 has largely vanished from most
annual sampling surveys in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta. But in December, state and federal biologists began
for the first time ever releasing captively bred adult Delta
smelt into the Delta’s waterways in a three-year effort to draw
the species away from the brink of extinction.
One of our most popular events,
Water
101 offers a once-a-year opportunity for anyone new
to California water issues or newly elected to a water district
board — and really anyone who wants a refresher — to
gain a deeper understanding of the state’s most precious
natural resource.
Water 101, to be held April 8 at McGeorge School of Law in
Sacramento, details the history, geography, legal and political
facets of water in California, as well as hot topics currently
facing the state. The workshop is taught by some of California’s
leading policy and legal experts.
As COVID-19 restrictions start to loosen up for most indoor
settings, we are cautiously moving toward a return
of our popular in-person programming this spring starting
with our Lower Colorado River Tour in March, our
Water 101 Workshop and Central Valley
Tour in April and our Bay-Delta Tour in
May.
Participants on our
in-person Lower Colorado
River Tour March 16-18 will enjoy a scenic
journey on the iconic river aboard an open-air vessel traveling
through the natural wonders of Topock Gorge and the Havasu
Wilderness Area.
Itineraries for this year’s slate
of water tours have been adjusted to
maximize the use of outdoor/open-air venues when possible, in
addition to other precautions, including enhanced sanitation
protocols and a mask requirement aboard the motorcoach and within
indoor spaces until further notice by health officials. Find more
details here.
Seating is limited, so register
here to reserve your spot today!
Twenty early to mid-career
water professionals from across California have been chosen for
the 2022 William R. Gianelli Water Leaders Class, the Water
Education Foundation’s highly competitive and respected career
development program.
This Water Leaders class, which marks the program’s 25th
anniversary, includes engineers, lawyers, resource
specialists, scientists and others from a range of public and
private entities and nongovernmental organizations from
throughout the state. The roster for the
2022 class can be foundhere.
Four new members bringing a wide
range of water resource experiences and perspectives have joined
the Water Education Foundation Board. They include
representatives from a Native American Tribe and the Nature
Conservancy, a lawyer specializing in water resources and a
communications and outreach manager for a Southern California
water agency.
They join a board led by Mike Chrisman, who served as California
natural resources secretary for seven years under former Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As 2022 unfolds at the Water Education Foundation, we are
planning for a cautious return to in-person events starting in
March with our Lower Colorado River Tour. Save the dates for our
other spring tours that are noted below. We’ve also got some new
publications to beef up your water knowledge and a job opening
for a writer.
There is just about a week left to
apply for our inaugural Colorado River Water Leaders
program in 2022, which marks the 100th anniversary
of the Colorado River Compact.
The biennial program is modeled after our highly successful
Water Leaders
program in California, now 25 years strong.
Our Colorado River program will select rising stars from the
seven U.S. states and tribal nations that rely on the river -
California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New
Mexico – to participate in the seven-month class designed for
working professionals. Class members will explore issues
surrounding the iconic Southwest river, deepen their water
knowledge and build leadership skills.
In the centennial year of the 1922 Colorado River
Compact that established a framework for management of the
river, the tour will take participants from Hoover Dam downstream
to the Mexican border and through the Imperial and Coachella
valleys to learn firsthand about the challenges and opportunities
now facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest” a hundred years later.
We’re looking for a special kind of
writer to join our team who is eager to produce the kinds of
insightful and challenging stories we pursue, such as
our latest Western Water article on how
drought and climate change are threatening to upend collaboration
in the Colorado River Basin.
Are you a journalist enthralled by the history, policy and
science behind Western water issues? Then you might be just the
right person to join our team. We’re looking for a full-time
writer who is deeply knowledgeable about the West’s most precious
natural resource in California and the Colorado River Basin,
enjoys a fast-paced environment and possesses strong multimedia
skills. Learn more about the job here.
The West is experiencing extraordinary and historic turmoil
surrounding water resources and drought, despite recent storms
that plumped up much-needed snowpack in the mountains. At the
Foundation, we are gearing up this year to focus even more on the
Colorado River Basin, the West’s iconic river that supplies 40
million people from Denver to Los Angeles and irrigates more than
4 million acres of crops.
As the year comes to a close and the holidays approach, don’t
forget to get your deal on our water book. Right around the
corner is our Lower Colorado River Tour in March; get the details
below to save the date. And don’t miss your chance next
Tuesday to learn more about applying for our inaugural 2022
Colorado River Water Leaders program.
Known for our popular Water Leaders
program in California – about to mark its 25th anniversary – we
are now launching a Colorado
River Water Leaders program in 2022, the 100th
anniversary of the Colorado River Compact.
The biennial program will select rising stars from the seven
U.S. states that rely on the river – California, Nevada, Arizona,
Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – to participate in the
seven-month class designed for working professionals. Class
members will explore issues surrounding the iconic Southwest
river, deepen their water knowledge and build leadership
skills.
Our Layperson’s
Guide to California Water has been completely
redesigned and updated throughout for 2021, providing an
excellent overview of the history of water development and its
use in California today.
The 10th Edition of our popular guide to California water
includes the latest information on the state’s changing
hydrology, recent water conservation legislation, and a new
section on the human right to and need for water, highlighting
issues of water access and affordability that have drawn
increasing attention in California.
Our 2021 Water Leaders class
completed its year with a report outlining policy recommendations
for achieving water equity in California.
The class of 23 up-and-coming
leaders from various water-related fields – engineers,
attorneys, planners, environmentalists and scientists – had full
editorial control to choose recommendations.
Here’s a sweet deal for the holidays
that won’t last long: Get our paperback “Water & the
Shaping of California,” a treasure trove of gorgeous
color photos, historic maps, water literature and famous sayings
about water for just $22.75 – a 35% discount.
“Water & the Shaping of California” is a beautifully designed
book that discusses the engineering feats, political decisions
and popular opinions that reshaped nature and society, leading to
the water projects that created the California we know today. The
book includes a foreword by the late Kevin Starr, the Golden
State’s premier historian.
Today on Giving Tuesday, a global
day of generosity, consider supporting the Water Education
Foundation by making a
donation.
The Foundation, an impartial nonprofit that has garnered the
highest level of recognition (platinum rating) by GuideStar,
has been educating people about water issues in California and
the West since 1977.
