Water Utility Climate Alliance
Focus Areas
WUCA develops reports, tools, and trainings to help water and wastewater utilities understand climate modeling and uncertainty, understand climate risks, plan for enhanced resilience, implement climate solutions, and build internal capacity. Follow the links below to explore WUCA's resources for each focus area.
Understanding Climate Modeling and Uncertainty
Understanding climate models and their application in the water sector is central to WUCA's mission and essential for all water utilities. As climate models evolve, many water utilities rely on downscaled climate projections to support planning, risk assessments, and long-term decision-making. This collection of WUCA products explores the latest developments in climate science, the use of downscaled climate projections, and the opportunities and challenges of applying climate information to water sector planning.
Understanding Climate Risks
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of hazards such as extreme heat, wildfires, droughts, and floods, creating new challenges for water utilities. Understanding climate-related exposures, vulnerabilities, and opportunities enables utilities to prioritize actions and integrate climate considerations into everyday planning, decision-making, and asset management. This collection provides resources to help utilities assess climate risks and strengthen preparedness for an uncertain future.
Adaptation and Resilience Planning
Planning for an uncertain future is fundamental to successful climate adaptation. WUCA members continue to develop approaches for assessing how changing climate conditions affect infrastructure, finances, ecosystems, and organizational capacity, and for incorporating those insights into long-term planning. This collection provides resources for utilities navigating uncertainty, highlighting frameworks, case studies, and lessons learned for planning in the context of climate change.
Leading Practices
For over a decade, WUCA members have developed and tested approaches to integrating climate science into water management, planning, investment, and operations. To share what worked, WUCA has compiled proven practices and member experiences to promote collaborative learning through a shared knowledge base, support peer learning, and help utilities identify practical pathways for advancing climate adaptation and resilience.
Resilience Trainings
WUCA’s trainings build a shared understanding of best available climate science, scenario-based planning, and practical implementation strategies. Across a series of regional climate resilience trainings, WUCA has helped advance stakeholders’ collective understanding of both water and climate change planning challenges and provide tools and case studies on how to overcome these challenges and successfully adapt, even in the face of deep uncertainty.