Water Supply

Population growth, urban expansion and climate variability are causing unprecedented impacts and strain on water resources worldwide, requiring advanced approaches to address these challenges in a sustainable manner. At the RTI Center for Water Resources, our integrated solutions help water supply organizations understand and manage their sources, risks, reliability, trade-offs and portfolio alternatives to meet current and future water demands. Our work has supported government agencies, municipalities, utilities, irrigation districts, basin management groups and more—including Denver Water, City of Fort Collins, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group and Imperial Irrigation District.

We provide the information you need to make complex planning and operational decisions under highly uncertain future conditions through the following services:

Water Supply Planning and Allocation
Growing demands, interconnected systems and competing objectives require managers to take a holistic approach to water resources management. We bridge groundwater and surface water sources, planning and allocation decision horizons, and resource and economic objectives to provide managers with comprehensive solutions.

Climate Resilience
Climate variability and change are perhaps the greatest sources of risk and uncertainty for water availability across the globe. Our climate resilience services include a comprehensive analysis of systems, uncertainty and impacts to identify robust solutions for vulnerability mitigation and adaptation planning.

Source Water Protection
Understanding conditions and protecting water at the source are the most important and economical steps to ensuring a reliable future water supply. Our source water protection services are grounded in a watershed-based approach, recognizing the value of “green infrastructure” and the critical impact the landscape has on the water supply’s quantity and quality.

Data Management
Good data are the fundamental backbone for informed water supply planning and decision-making. Our experts specialize in the full data management lifecycle, from monitoring through visualization, to translate data into actionable information.

Learn more about the RTI Center for Water Resources