When

Thursday April 28, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM PDT
Add to Calendar 

Where

Sacramento Masonic Temple, Grand Ballroom 
1123 J Street
3rd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
 

 
Driving Directions 

Contact

Kathy Brown 
Capitol Weekly 
916-444-7665 
kathy.brown@capitolweekly.net 
 

WATER: 2016 

As Californians live through a historic drought, the state’s leaders seek solutions to an age-old problem. New groundwater rules, restrictions on water use, and fights over new storage and transportation projects loom in 2016 - with a proposed ballot initiative that would restrict large infrastructure projects looming over all.

Capitol Weekly and the UC Center present WATER: 2016, their third annual conference devoted to California water policy. This day-long conference will be held on April 28, 2016, and will be filmed for broadcast by the California Channel.

8:00AM - 9:00AM check in, coffee

9:00AM Opening Remarks

9:20AM - 10:30AM PANEL 1: Fiscal Impacts 
Project costs; financing, rates, related structure costs; prepping and planning, etc

Kip Lipper, Office of the Senate Pro Tem; Jeff Michael, University of the Pacific; Roger Patterson, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; David Sunding, UC Berkeley Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics; Jay Ziegler, The Nature Conservancy

Moderated by Ben Bradford, Capital Public Radio

10:45AM-  11:55AM PANEL 2: The Project 
A physical description: how big and long; impact on landscape; potential changes; property issues; construction timelines, etc

Jay Lund, Center for Watershed Sciences; Karla Nemeth, California Natural Resources Agency; Michael Quigley, Alliance for Jobs; Rogene Reynolds, former president, Restore the Delta

Moderated by Chris Austin, Maven’s Notebook
 
Noon: Keynote
John Laird, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency

12:55PM - 2:05PM PANEL 3: Water Storage and Delivery
Groundwater storage, surface storage; impacts on delivery; additional infrastructure; areas of greatest need

Tom Birmingham, Westlands Water District; Doug Obegi, Natural Resources Defense Council; Timothy Quinn, Association of California Water Agencies; Paul Wenger, California Farm Bureau Federation

Moderated by Jennifer Bowles, Water Education Foundation

2:20PM - 3:30PM PANEL 4: The Politics
Political forces at play shaping policy, outlook for legislative/ballot action; is the north-vs-south division intensifying; options for water districts; environmental concerns

Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman; Assemblyman Marc LevineMario Santoyo, San Joaquin Valley Water Infrastructure Authority; Charley Wilson, Southern California Water Committee

Moderated by Dan Morain, Sacramento Bee

Registration rate is $199. Special $99 rate for California state government staff. Registration includes lunch and all conference materials.

A limited number of no-cost scholarships are available for students, and for anyone for whom cost is an issue.  Contact Kathy Brown at Capitol Weekly, (916) 444 7665, for information on applying for a scholarship or registration fee-waiver.

WATER: 2016 will be held in Sacramento at the historic Sacramento Masonic Temple Grand Ballroom at 1123 J Street. 

For Sponsorship information, contact Tim Foster at (916) 444 7665 or tim.foster@capitolweekly.net.

For Registration information contact Kathy Brown at (916) 444 7665 or kathy.brown@capitolweekly.net.

For questions about content, please contact John Howard at (916) 444-7665 or john.howard@capitolweekly.net.

Thanks to our sponsors: The California Endowment, The Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, Californians for Water Security, California Water Association, California Alliiance for Jobs, Capital Public Radio, The Water Education Foundation, KP Public Affairs, California Professional Firefighters, Fiona Hutton and Associates, California Latino Water Coalition, Association of California Water Agencies, Maven’s Notebook, The Southern California Water Committee, The California Almond Board, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, The California Center for Civic Participation, I Heart Media, The Nature Conservancy and The California Channel.