Announcements

More than two dozen refuge structures made of large walnut tree trunks bolted to boulders were dropped deep into the Sacramento River last year to shelter juvenile salmon from predators.

Participants on our Northern California Tour Oct. 10-12 will visit the location of these rearing structures in Redding and learn why they’re important from Roger Cornwell, general manager of River Garden Farms, which spearheaded the project. Other restoration-focused stops on the tour include the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and the Red Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project.

Amy Haas recently became the first non-engineer and the first woman to serve as executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission in its 70-year history, putting her smack in the center of a host of daunting challenges facing the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Yet those challenges will be quite familiar to Haas, an attorney who has a long history of working within interstate Colorado River governance. As the commission’s executive director, Haas is likely to play a major role in helping to address changing hydrologic conditions that result in a drier climate and less water for the Colorado, drought planning and ongoing water conservation efforts, as well as tribal water rights among Native Americans and their impact throughout the Colorado River Basin. These issues have implications throughout the Colorado River drainage.

The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers are the two major Central Valley waterways that feed the Delta, the hub of California’s water supply network. Our last water tours of 2018 will look in-depth at how these rivers are managed and used for agriculture, cities and the environment. You’ll see infrastructure, learn about efforts to restore salmon runs and talk to people with expertise on these rivers.

Early bird prices are still available!

California’s mountain forests are the source of 60% of the state’s developed water, but they’re under siege from climate change, drought, bark beetles and catastrophic wildfire, including the latest fire sweeping toward Yosemite National Park.

At the Foundation’s 35^th annual Water Summit Sept. 20 in Sacramento, a panel of experts will address the breadth of challenges facing the state’s headwaters, some key scientific research on the forests and potential solutions.

Get an up-close look at some of California’s key water reservoirs and learn about farming operations, habitat restoration, flood management and wetlands in the Sacramento Valley on our Northern California Water Tour Oct. 10-12.

Each year, participants on the Northern California Water Tour enjoy three days exploring the Sacramento Valley during the temperate fall. Join us as we travel through a scenic landscape along the Sacramento and Feather rivers to learn about issues associated with storing and delivering the state’s water supply.

Controversial flow requirements for the lower San Joaquin River designed to meet ecological needs of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will be among the topics addressed during the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento.

The Foundation’s 35th annual Water Summit, Facing Reality from the Headwaters to the Delta, will feature panels on the Delta, the Sierra Nevada headwaters and the state’s human right to water law. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman will be the keynote speaker at lunch. 

Jennifer Bowles, executive director of the Water Education Foundation, will speak on a panel about the media during the 25th Annual Urban Water Institute’s conference in San Diego Aug 22-24.

Bowles, a veteran journalist and executive editor of the Foundation’s Western Water news, will join other media representatives, including Ry Rivard of the Voice of San Diego, to discuss Working with the Media in Changing Times. Former Foundation Executive Director Rita Schmidt Sudman, author of Water More or Less, will moderate. See the draft agenda here.

Summer Solstice happens tomorrow, and to celebrate, we’re offering a special 20% discount on our beautiful poster-size water maps, Layperson’s Guides and other water education materials.

Don’t miss out! This summer sale starts now and runs through Friday. Use the promo code SOLSTICE at checkout to get your discount.

It’s high-stakes time in Arizona. The state that is first in line to absorb a shortage on the Colorado River is seeking a unified approach for water supply management to join its Lower Basin neighbors, California and Nevada, in a coordinated plan to preserve water levels in Lake Mead before they run too low.

If the lake’s elevation falls below 1,075 feet above sea level, the secretary of the Interior would declare a shortage and Arizona’s deliveries of Colorado River water — water that helps feed its farms and cities — would be reduced by 320,000 acre-feet — enough, Arizona says, to supply about 1 million households a year.