The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide unbiased, balanced information on water issues in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and the Southwestern United States. The Foundation's mission, since its founding in 1977, has been "to create a better understanding of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach." Located in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California, the Foundation offers publications, public television documentaries, briefings and conferences and school programs to help educate the public on a variety of water issues. The Foundation is led by an executive director, Jennifer Bowles, and is governed by a volunteer board of 33 members representing water, education, business, environmental and public interest communities in California. The board of directors meets quarterly.

Public television documentaries

In 2009 the Foundation won a regional Emmy award for the 2008 public television documentary, ''Salt of the Earth: Salinity in California’s Central Valley'' hosted by comedian Paul Rodriguez. This program discusses the growing problem of salt buildup in the Central Valley and discusses potential solutions. Two other documentaries, ''Fate of the Jewel'' (2001), which discusses Lake Tahoe pollution, and ''High Stakes at the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf ...

'' (2002), which discusses efforts to restore the Salton Sea and is narrated by actor

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

, also received regional Emmy awards.

Publications, briefings and conferences

The flagship of the Foundation is ''Western Water,'' a quarterly magazine through which readers learn about topics such as California water supply, water quality, the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

, and endangered species. Western Water became an online news publication in 2018. In 2000, the Foundation released a book, ''Water and the Shaping of California'', written by then-Program Director Sue McClurg. With a foreword written by historian

Kevin Starr Kevin Owen Starr (September 3, 1940 – January 14, 2017) was an American historian and California's state librarian, best known for his multi-volume series on the history of California, collectively called "Americans and the California Dream." ...

, the book features historical photos of water while the text discusses the way water has influenced the development of the state's cities and farms. The book includes well-known quotations and excerpts from literature about water. Each year the Foundation organizes conferences and briefings that focus on current water issues and include prominent speakers from the water community. Events in 2009 included a U.S.–Mexico Binational Drought Science conference with the

California Department of Water Resources The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is part of the California Natural Resources Agency and is responsible for the management and regulation of the State of California's water usage. The department was created in 1956 by Governor G ...

. Events in 2010 have included an International Groundwater Conference, organized with the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

, with speakers from organizations including

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

International Water Management Institute The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a non-profit international water management research organisation under the CGIAR with its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and offices across Africa and Asia. Research at the Institute fo ...

and the California Farm Bureau. In August 2010 the Foundation was one of several nonpartisan groups (including the California Center for the Book and the

California State Library The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...

) that participated in 'Water Conversations' held in the Sacramento Delta area by the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

Cooperative Extension Service The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, ...

Water tours

Each year the Foundation offers tours that allow participants to visit various water facilities, rivers and regions in California and the Southwest for educational purposes. Speakers representing water districts, agricultural and environmental interests discuss topics including water supply, water quality, environmental restoration,

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

management,

and water conservation. Tours include the Sacramento San-Joaquin Delta, the Lower Colorado River, California's Central Valley and the San Joaquin River.

Project WET

The Foundation is the California Coordinator for Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), an award-winning, nonprofit water education program and publisher. The program facilitates and promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources through the dissemination of classroom-ready teaching aids and the establishment of internationally sponsored Project WET programs.

Aquafornia

In 2008, the Foundation began a partnership with Aquafornia, a web site that posts daily news updates on water issues. These updates are taken from a variety of sources including mainstream newspapers and magazines, other water blogs, press releases, trade journals and other non-traditional news sources.

Funding sources

The Foundation's general activities were supported by contributions, sales of public educational materials, tours and briefings. A variety of grants from government agencies, private foundations and other organizations fund some of the Foundation's special programs, publications and projects.

Projects

In 2009 the Foundation assisted the reading promotion agency California Center for the Book with developing resources to help public libraries host programming about water. The project is continuing through 2010 and is offered to all 181 library districts in the state. The Foundation is the fiscal sponsor for a feature-length documentary film which examines the life of former California governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, titled "California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown." The film focuses in part on his quest to build the

California Aqueduct The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after Califo ...

and his fight against the death penalty.

References

External links

Water Education Foundation

Aquafornia

Project WET
Water organizations in the United States Environmental organizations based in California