About the Program
Achieving groundwater sustainability is vital to the health of the San Joaquin Valley’s communities, agriculture, environment, and economy—but the transition will be challenging. How can the region ensure the best outcomes? Authors of a new PPIC study and a diverse group of local and state experts will discuss key issues and solutions to some of the valley’s looming challenges.
- Welcome and Presentation → Watch the video
- Panel 1: Managing Water in the SGMA Era → Watch the video
- Panel 2: Farmland Transitions: What Are the Options? → Watch the video
- Panel 3: How Can We Work Together? → Watch the video
This event is co-hosted by Fresno State’s California Water Institute, the Central Valley Community Foundation, and the PPIC Water Policy Center. The research was supported with funding from the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, California Department of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, and the California Strategic Growth Council’s Climate Change Research Program with funds from California Climate Investments.
Co-hosts
Agenda
8:30 a.m. Event Check-In and Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Welcome
Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president, California State University, Fresno
Ashley Swearengin, president and CEO, Central Valley Community Foundation
9:10 a.m. Presentation: Water and Farmland Transitions in the San Joaquin Valley
Andrew Ayres, research fellow, Public Policy Institute of California
9:45 a.m. Panel 1: Managing Water in the SGMA Era
Moderator: Alvar Escriva-Bou, assistant professor, University of California, Los Angeles
Don Cameron, vice president and general manager, Terranova Ranch, Inc.
Kassy Chauhan, executive officer, North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency
Aaron Fukuda, general manager, Tulare Irrigation District
Sonia Sanchez, senior community development specialist, Self-Help Enterprises
10:45 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Panel 2: Farmland Transitions: What Are the Options?
Moderator: Caity Peterson, associate center director and research fellow, PPIC Water Policy Center
Eric Averett, chief executive officer, Atlas Water, LLC
Erica Brand, project manager of land use and infrastructure policy, California Energy Commission
Allison Febbo, general manager, Westlands Water District
Ann Hayden, vice president of climate resilient water systems, Environmental Defense Fund
12:00 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. Panel 3: How Can We Work Together?
Moderator: Ellen Hanak, vice president and center director, PPIC Water Policy Center
Rey León, mayor, City of Huron
Karla Nemeth, director, California Department of Water Resources
Adam Nickels, regional resources manager, US Bureau of Reclamation
Sarah Woolf, farmer and water consultant, Water Wise
1:30 p.m. Adjourn