Water Course

California Water Course

Science, Policy and Management

Deadline to Register: April 30th, 2026. REGISTRATION CLOSED! Payment Collection Link

Registration Description Calendar Content Materials Guidebook Water System Self Assessment Water Policy Map (Español)

Course Description

Objective: Provide relevant and applied education of water science, policies and management to residents, businesses, community water advocates, and entry level professionals in California.

Audience: any person interested in water issues and solutions in California, including water advocates, community leaders and entry level professionals.

Minimum requirements: Course enrollees should have basic knowledge of arithmetic and algebra

Student learning objectives: At the end of the course, the student will be able to
●  identify the natural and human-made components of their water system and recognize how they are connected
●  distinguish the water policies that apply in their region of interest,
●  evaluate the current water management in their region of interest, and
●  critique and propose alternative water management alternatives for their region of interest

Length: 40 hours total. 2 hours of video content, 14 hours self-guided content, and 24 hours of in person events

Certificate of Completion: This is a Pass/Fail course. You have to attend the all the group meetings and submit your Water System Self-Assessment assignments. If completed successfully, you will receive a certificate of completion.

Important Dates:

Registration opens: March 16th, 2026
Deadline to Register: April 30th, 2026

Kickoff meeting (All - remote): May 2 2026, 8:00 to 9:30 am

Field trips (in Person - Each Chapter):
Indigenous Water Guardians: May 23, 9 am to 5 pm
Sacramento basin: May 30, 9 am to 5 pm
San Joaquin and Tulare basin: June 6, 9 am to 5 pm
San Francisco Bay Area: June 13, 9 am to 5 pm

Key Concepts (All - remote): July 25, 9 am to 3 pm

Water System Self-Assessment (Remote):
San Joaquin and Tulare basin: August 29, 8 am to noon
Sacramento basin: August 29, 1 pm to 5 pm
San Francisco Bay Area: September 12, 8 am to noon
Indigenous Water Guardians: September 12, 1 pm to 5 pm

The California Water Course it's a different course of water in California, because it is:

(1) Self-guided, you can take it at your own pace, you only need to attend three in-person meetings,
(2) Self-interest driven, each assignment is tailor towards the interest of each of the participants,
(3) Authenticated, meaning that the course is based on real-world examples,
(4) Question driven, meaning that the content is based on asking questions rather than explaining topics,
(5) Flipped-classroom, the theory and homework is done on your own, and the hand's on training is done during in-person events, and
(6) Bilingual, you can take the class in English or Español.

Course Content

Module 1 - Water systems and basic concepts of hydrology

Module 2 - Water policies in California

Module 3 - Water budgets

Module 4 - Public comment letter (optional)

Course Materials

Freely available at:

Facebook search: californiawatercourse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/californiawatercourse/

Instagram Search: californiawatercourse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/californiawatercourse/

Tiktok Search: SamuelSandovalSolis
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@user7868176383407?_t=8pfQloImBWV&_r=1

Youtube Search: Samuel Sandoval Solis
YouTube Chanel: Module 1 (English, Spanish), Module 2 (English, Spanish), and Module 3 (English, Spanish)

Water Quality Sampler - Otter

If you are taking a water sample at home, please take a look at the following instructions in this document. You can see the instructions as images in English and Español.

Course Calendar

	Date	Time	Location	Session	Meeting	What is due?
	Date	Time	Location	Session	Meeting	Guidebook - Videos	Water System Self Assessment
Intro.	Mon Mar/16	8:00 am	Here in the website	Registration opens
	Mon Apr/30	Midnight	---	Registration closes
	Sat May/2	8:00-9:30 am	Zoom	Agenda, presentation, video, bios.	Kickoff Meeting (Remote - Video)
Module 1 - Water Systems	Sat May/23	8:30 am to 5:00 pm	Location: TBD	Instructions, Agenda, Water Policy Map: English, Español, Rubric	Field trip Indigenous Water Guardians	X
	Sat May/30	8:30 am to 5:00 pm	Location: TBD	Instructions, Agenda, Water Policy Map: English, Español, Rubric	Field trip Sacramento Basin	X
	Mon Jun/1	Midnight	Google drive (Instructions)	Deadline Module 1 Water System Self Assessment			X
	Sat Jun/6	8:30 am to 5:00 pm	Location: TBD	Instructions, Agenda, Water Policy Map: English, Español, Rubric	Field trip San Joaquin - Tulare Basin	X
	Sat Jun/13	8:30 am to 5:00 pm	Location: TBD	Instructions, Agenda, Water Policy Map: English, Español, Rubric	Field trip San Francisco Bay Area	X
Module 2 - Water Policies	Mon Jul/6	Midnight	Google drive (Instructions)	Deadline. Module 2 Water System Self Assessment			X
Module 2 - Water Policies	Sat Jul/25	9:30 am - 4:30 pm	Zoom	Key Concepts. Agenda. Presentations: Soils and Water 1 and 2, Water Quality, Community Water Tool, Community Needs Assessment & Collaboration, Water Justice 1 and 2.	All Participants Key Concepts (Remote)
Module 3 - Water Budgets	Tues Jul/7	Midnight	Guidebook	Release of Guidebook: Module 3 Water Budgets
Module 3 - Water Budgets	Mon Aug/3	Midnight	Google drive (Instructions)	Deadline. Module 3 Water System Self Assessment			X
Module 4 - Public Comment Letter	Sat Aug/29	8:00 am to noon	Zoom	Agenda, registration form for your presentaiton time.	Wat. Syst. Self- Assessment San Joaquin/Tulare
	Sat Aug/29	1:00 pm - 5:00 pm	Zoom	Agenda, registration form for your presentaiton time.	Wat. Syst. Self- Assessment Sacramento Basin
	Mon Sep/8	Midnight	Google drive (Instructions)	Deadline. Module 4 Water System Self Assessment			X
	Sat Sep/12	8:00 am to noon	Zoom	Agenda, registration form for your presentaiton time.	Wat. Syst. Self- Assessment Indigenous Water Guardians
	Sat Sep/12	1:00 pm - 5:00 pm	Zoom	Agenda, registration form for your presentaiton time.	Wat. Syst. Self- Assessment San Francisco Bay Area
Module 5 - Tribal Autoethnography	Sat Sep/12	8:00 am to noon	Zoom	Deadline. Module 5 Water System Self Assessment (Only Indigenous Water Guardians)			X

Guidebook

Module	Document	IG	FB	TT	YT	or Videos
Module 1. Water Systems	Module 1 (pdf)	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16	1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16	1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16	What is a water System? What is a basin? What are the natural elements of a water system? What are the human-made elements of a water system? What are the key water cycle events to remember? How human activities and climate change are affecting the water cycle? How Many water Systems are there? How Water moves naturally in California? How snowmelt driven rivers function (high elevation)? How rainfall driven rivers function (mid elevation)? How rainfall and aquifer driven rivers function (low elevation)? How groundwater moves underneath the valleys? How urban water systems works? How agricultural systems works? How hydropower systems works? How flood protection systems works?


Module 2. Water Policies	Module 2 (pdf)					What policies apply at all times in the State of California? What are the conditions to use water in the state of California? Whose water is it? How the state of California protects public water uses? What law protects any water body (e.g. rivers, aquifers) for being contaminated? What law protects drinking water? Does every Californian have the right to drinking water? What laws protect all animal and plants species living in California waters? What policies apply according the type of water source (e.g. surface water or groundwater)? How can I use surface waters? What is a riparian water right? What is an appropriative water right? How can I use groundwater? What is an overlaying groundwater right? What is an appropriative groundwater right? What are the laws in California that I need to know to use groundwater? How can I use water if I am located in an adjudicated groundwater basin? How can I use water if I am located in a groundwater basin managed by SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act)? What is SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act)? How Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) manage groundwater? Are groundwater laws related with surface water? How the environment (river ecosystems) is protected in rivers? How can I obtain an instream flow? How much water is needed to sustain adequate ecological conditions in rivers? What are the ecological components that I should consider for instream flows? How can a tribe use water in California? What is the legal framework of tribal water rights (federally reserved rights)? What are the agencies that regulate tribal water (federally reserved rights) in California? How can a Tribe gain access or hold a water right? What is the legal framework of recycled water use in California? What are the agencies that regulate recycled water in California? How can an individual or an institution gain access to recycled water in California? What is a key water principle that water sysytem follow?


Module 3. Water Budgets	Module 3 (pdf)					What is a Water Budget? What is a control volume and how it applies to the water budget of my water system? How is a water budget for surface water basins? How is a water budgets for groundwater basins? How is a water budget for cities?
Module 4. Public Letter Comment	Module 4 (pdf)					[Module in progress]


Module 5. Tribal Autoethnography	Module 5 (pdf)					What is Ethnography? What is Indigenous Ethnography (IE)? What are the main steps to do my Indigenous Ethnography (IE)? What are the sources of information that I should be aware of? What is a knowledge map? Do I need to get consent for my ethnographic work for every person I interview? What are good guidelines for conducting a guided interview? What is storywork and oral? What is the importance of storytelling? How can I collect stories? How can I analyze the stories (the storywork)? How can I synthesize the indigenous knowledge?

IG .- Instagram, FB.- Facebook, TT.- TikTok, YT.- YouTube

Water System Self-Assessment

Please follow this instructions to submit your Water System Self-Assessment Assignment

Module	Materials
Module 1. Water Systems	Template for your Water System (docx, pdf) Example of Pajaro Valley (pdf)
Module 2. Water Policies
Module 3. Water Budget
Module 4. Public Comment Letter
Module 5. Tribal Autoethnography