OUR MISSION

The WATER Institute develops innovative science-based solutions for communities and the environment to address the legacy of hydrologically destructive land-use practices and policies on California’s watersheds, and the urgent need to address the impacts of climate change on the water cycle.

“The water cycle
and the life cycle
are one”

Jacques Cousteau

Water News

Upcoming WATER Institute Events

Upcoming events in watershed, beaver, and process-based restoration.

Dr Rejendra Singh at OAEC – SOLD OUT!

Thanks for your interest. This event is SOLD OUT! OAEC and the WATER Institute are excited to welcome world renowned water conservationist Dr. Rajendra Singh to OAEC! Join us for … Read more

OAEC Makes a Splash in Restoration Journal

Ecesis, the quarterly news journal of SerCal (California Society for Ecological Restoration) features an article written by our own WATER Institute Co-Directors, Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman, and Development and … Read more

Bring Back the Beaver

In order to improve water supply for humans and the environment and increase resilience to drought and climate change, the WATER Institute is working to integrate beaver management into California policy and regulation.

Bring Back the Beaver Campaign >

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The WATER Institute can help you protect your watershed:

MODELING WATERSHED RESILIENCY

“Just as water is the foundation of life, it must also be the foundation of design in the built environment.”

Betsy Damon (Keeper of the Waters)

Conservation Hydrology
Demonstration at OAEC

Community resilience depends on healthy relationships with our watersheds. Through a practice we call “Conservation Hydrology,” you can create and install water management systems that restore and protect watersheds. Learn about our Conservation Hydrology demonstration site for design inspiration.

Projects & Collaboration

TRAINING CHANGEMAKERS

“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.”

Steven Wright

The WATER Institute supports students, landowners, watershed advocates, land managers, land-use professionals agency staff and policy makers to become water-literate environmental stewards. You too can increase your community’s watershed literacy by drawing from our many resources.

Water Publications

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES TO TRANSFORM WATERSHEDS

“Water links us to our neighbor in a way more profound and complex than any other.”

John Thorson

Viewing your watershed as a shared “basin of relations” allows you and your neighbors to truly define the boundaries of your community and to organize around meaningful issues of lasting local social security.

Basins of Relations Guide

CHANGING THE RULES

“Fix it in your constitution that no corporation, no body of men, no capital can get possession and right to your waters. Hold the waters in the hands of the people.”

John Wesley Powell 1890 North Dakota Constitutional Convention

Brock Dolman in a salmon suit testifying to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on behalf of Totem Salmon. Read his speech.

We are perched on the tipping point of a “watershed moment.” Considering the importance of water, we all need to be involved in the politics of water resources.

Lasting change ultimately occurs in the arenas of politics and democratic decision-making. Learn how the WATER Institute is changing the rules through our Bring Back the Beaver Campaign and other agricultural water work.

Bring Back the Beaver Campaign