Participants learn about local, state and federal issues from a host of experts on all sides. Time for socializing and networking is included in the action-packed itineraries, allowing participants to share information and make valuable contacts. New for 2001 is the Southern California Groundwater Tour , which will travel to several groundwater basins and explore issues of groundwater use and quality. All tours are three days and two nights. Tour registration fee includes transportation and lodging while on the tour, meals and background materials.
Attorneys can earn continuing legal education credits.
Issues discussed include the Colorado River Compact, California's 4.4 plan, the Central Arizona Project, southern Nevada's water needs, water conservation and transfer agreements, restoration of the Salton Sea, tribal water rights and water quality. The tour begins in Las Vegas, with an optional pre-registration in Sacramento, and ends at Ontario Airport. Yet this is also one of California's fastest growing regions. Stops on the tour include Panoche Irrigation District, San Luis Reservoir , Westlands Water District, Grasslands Water District, Mendota Pool, Friant Dam, the San Joaquin River parkway , local farms and agricultural processing plants. Traveling the length of the west and east sides of the Central Valley, this tour offers participants a clear understanding of how two of the state's major water systems, the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, have shaped this region.