Aqueduct 3.0: Updated Decision-Relevant Global Water Risk Indicators

Abstract

Water is essential to the progress of human societies. It is required for a healthy environment and a thriving economy. Food production, electricity generation, and manufacturing, among other things, all depend on it. However, many decision-makers lack the technical expertise to fully understand hydrological information. In response to growing concerns from the private sector and other actors about water availability, water quality, climate change, and increasing demand, WRI applied the composite index approach as a robust communication tool to translate hydrological data into intuitive indicators of water-related risks. This technical note serves as the main reference for the updated Aqueduct™ water risk framework, in which we combine 13 water risk indicators-including quantity, quality, and reputational risks-into a composite overall water risk score. The main audience for this technical note includes users of the Aqueduct tool, for whom the short descriptions on the tool and in the metadata document are insufficient. This technical note lays out the design of the Aqueduct water risk framework, explains how various data sources are transformed into water risk indicators, and covers how the indicators are aggregated into composite scores. This document does not explore the differences with the previous version. The resulting database and online tools enable comparison of water-related risks across large geographies to identify regions or assets deserving of closer attention. Aqueduct 3.0 introduces an updated water risk framework and new and improved indicators. It also features different hydrological sub-basins. We introduce indicators based on a new hydrological model that now features (1) integrated water supply and demand, (2) surface water and groundwater modeling, (3) higher spatial resolution, and (4) a monthly time series that enables the provision of monthly scores for selected indicators. Key elements of Aqueduct, such as overall water risk, cannot be directly measured and therefore are not validated. Aqueduct remains primarily a prioritization tool and should be augmented by local and regional deep dives. Source: WRI. OVERALL WATER RISK Physical risk quantity Baseline water stress Baseline water depletion Interannual variability Seasonal variability Groundwater table decline Riverine flood risk Coastal flood Drought risk Untreated connected wastewater Coastal eutrophication potential Unimproved/no drinking water Unimproved/no sanitation Peak RepRisk country ESG risk index Physical risk quality Regulatory and reputational risk

Global Characterization of Inland Water Reservoirs Using ICESat‐2 Altimetry and Climate Reanalysis

“…Plentiful water availability and extensive infrastructure thus allow countries in these regions to defy climate, ranking them as some of the least water stressed in the world. According to the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct water risk framework (Hofste et al, 2019),…”

WWF water risk filter: Assess, respond & value water risks

“…○ Quantity -Water scarcity: Lack of water can result in significant impacts to a business such as production disruption, higher operating costs and growth constraints. Recognizing that there are many models and approaches to assess water scarcity, the tool contains several well-recognized global data sets under this category, including the WRI Aqueduct 'Baseline Water Stress' (Hofste et al, 2019) and the WaterGAP3 'Water Depletion' (Brauman et al, 2016); ○ Quantity -Flooding: Flood events can impact businesses' operations directly, as well as across their value chain, by closing operations, disrupting supply chains, increasing capital costs and reducing revenues from lower sales and/or output. The tool's flood occurrence risk is based on historical data from the University of Colorado's Dartmouth Flood Observatory (Brakenridge, 2019); ○ Water quality: Poor or degraded water quality can result in sites having no or limited access to water of good enough quality for their activities and performance, increasing operating costs (e.g., treating incoming water), and increasing regulatory and reputational scrutiny.…”

DisasterAWARE – A GLOBAL ALERTING PLATFORM FOR FLOOD EVENTS

“…The 16,385 static watershed boundaries from WRI provide Riverine Flood Risk (RFR) score and Coastal Flood Risk (CFR) score calculated annually. The RFR score for watershed boundaries is computed based on inundation caused by a river overflow, exposure (population in a flood zone), and vulnerability (flooded population and existing level of flood protection) (Hofste et al, 2019). For the MoM approach, using GFMS product (flood depth above the threshold), the following parameters were derived: watershed area and percentage of the area impacted by a flood, depth above baseline (mean and max), and duration of a flood (cumulative hours) for the watershed every 24 hours.…”