How can we make better decisions in a changing world?

There is broad recognition that adapting to climate change, coupled with the need to address aging infrastructure, population growth, and degraded ecosystems, will require re-thinking programs and policies and investing in improvements to natural and built water systems. Planners, land managers, policymakers and communities will need to employ a variety of strategies to  address new and changing water challenges. Such tools could include novel approaches to watershed restoration, efficiency improvements, to building vegetated bioswales and living, green roofs on urban buildings. 

Water is life. It is is deeply linked with the economic, environmental, and social well-being of our communities. Therefore, many of the strategies used to improve natural and built water systems can provide many other benefits, such as reducing energy usage, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, creating wildlife corridors for wildlife in urban areas, and enhancing community livability. In order to make better decisions on how and where to implement these solutions, we need a multi-benefit framework that can reliably quantify these benefits and streamline the decision-making process for water managers, policymakers and community leaders.