The Water Education Foundation is a California-based nonprofit organization that advocates on water resource issues. ¹ It partners with Project WET to conduct its water education programming and trains teachers to use lessons that teach that carbon emissions are a main cause of water issues. ²

Background

The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1977 and advocates on water resource issues in California and the Western United States. ¹ It provides free and paid publications outlining the nature of water issues in California. It also has training programs to teach people about water issues and train them to engage in political advocacy. ^{3 4}

The Water Education Foundation publishes an online magazine that discusses developments in Western water issues and uses environmentalism to advocate for water management policies to address issues associated with the concept that humans cause climate change. ⁵

Advocacy

In 2014, the Water Education Foundation supported the passing of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which created local and regional agencies to develop regulations that address groundwater conservation. The bill authorized the creation of local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies that are tasked with creating plans for preventing groundwater basin overdrafts. ⁶

In February 2025, the Water Education Foundation published a blog post expressing support for the passage of California Proposition 4, which issues a bond to raise $10 billion to fund environmentalist projects. The proposition includes $2.3 billion in funding for implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, including drought planning and water recycling. It also includes funding for land acquisition and projects in response to predictions that the sea levels will rise, subsidizing alternatives to conventional agricultural practices. ^{7 8}

Project WET

California Project WET is a project of the Water Education Foundation that trains K-12 teachers as the California affiliate of Project WET (Water Education Today). ⁹ Project WET provides lessons, educational materials, and professional development training for teachers that address water resource issues. It also offers its resources and services to private companies and government organizations and includes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics for them to use in their organizations. ¹⁰

Project WET water resource issue programming focuses on the idea that climate change exists because of carbon emissions produced by conventional energy use, and advocates for using water issue education to address climate change. ¹¹ It argues that carbon emissions are a form of pollution that endangers the health of people, causes global warming, and is the source of increased, catastrophic natural disasters. Further, Project WET promotes the idea that climate change is a major source of water scarcity and contamination, and it creates lesson plans that advise educators to teach students that they must engage in environmentalist practices to prevent climate-related catastrophes. ²

Water Leaders

Water Leaders is an annual program that the Water Education Fund hosts in California and Colorado where it provides young professionals with information regarding water issues. ¹² Each cohort from the program produces a report containing policy recommendations that address water issues. ¹³

Water Leader’s 2024 cohort produced a report advocating for each of the 250 local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) in California to develop “regional networks” to develop plans on how regulatory changes will be implemented by stakeholders. It also advocates for the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to incorporate the GSAs over 100 Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) on groundwater regulations into the approval process for land use permits, requiring that land repurposing to align with the environmentalist and economic goals of the GSAs. Lastly, the report advocates for GSAs to receive increased funding to hire more people to provide oversight on compliance with groundwater regulations and that the money is distributed “equitably.” ⁴

Leadership

Jenn Bowles is the executive director of the Water Education Foundation. Previously, Bowles served as a writer and communications strategist at Best Best & Krieger LLP and as a reporter for The Press-Enterprise and The Associated Press. ¹⁴

Financials

In 2023, the Water Education Foundation reported $1.6 in total revenue, including $375,291 in government grants. ^{15 16} It also reported $1.6 million in total expenses. ¹⁷

1. “About Us.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/about-us-1.
2. “Using Project WET to Teach Climate Resilience.” Project WET. July 15, 2021. https://www.projectwet.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/ClimateResilienceLessonPlan_FINAL_07.15.21.pdf.
3. “Layperson’s Guides.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/laypersons-guides.
4. “Recommendations for Implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.” Water Education Foundation. 2024. https://www.watereducation.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/2024_water_leaders_report_sgma_implementation.pdf?1734478021.
5. “Western Water News.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/WesternWater.
6. “Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia-background/sustainable-groundwater-management-act-sgma.
7. “Blog: How Prop 4 Will Impact California’s Climate and Natural Resource Investments.” Water Education Foundation. February 11, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/aquafornia-news/blog-how-prop-4-will-impact-californias-climate-and-natural-resources-investments.
8. Sencan, Gokce and Cole, Spence. “How Prop 4 Will Impact California’s Climate and Natural Resources Investments.” Public Policy Institute of California. February 10, 2025. https://www.ppic.org/blog/how-prop-4-will-impact-californias-climate-and-natural-resources-investments/.
9. “Project WET.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/project-wet.
10. “About Us.” Project WET. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.projectwet.org/about-us.
11. “Topic: Climate.” Project WET. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.projectwet.org/programs/climate.
12. “Water Leaders.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/water-leaders.
13. “Yearly Class Reports.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/yearly-class-reports.
14. “Jenn Bowles.” Water Education Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.watereducation.org/profile/jenn-bowles.
15. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Water Education Foundation. 2023. Part I, Line 12.
16. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Water Education Foundation. 2023. Part VIII, Line 1e.
17. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Water Education Foundation. 2023. Part I, Line 18.