The water program drives innovation in water management by developing, using, and transferring planning tools and participatory processes that promote holistic, transparent and robust decision-making.
We work on national, regional and local scales, mapping out watersheds and future conditions using SEI’s Water Evaluation And Planning System (WEAP). WEAP enables policy-makers and stakeholders to consider how management plans will affect cities, industries and farms, as well as long-neglected interests such as wildlife habitat and vulnerable communities.
Our researchers are located in all three US offices.
Past event / Learn how SEI's innovative water modelling tool allows researchers and policymakers to advance sustainable and equitable water planning.
Feature / Water managers must balance the needs of aquatic habitat and human supply. SEI Scientist Doug Chalmers explains a new approach to help resolve that tension.
Media coverage / SEI's partnership with a university in Argentina allows people to explore the intersections of fracking and local water supply with virtual reality.
Perspective / Six key recommendations from the 2023 UN Water Conference for future water management strategies and transformative governance.
Project / SEI researchers are working on a new framework to ensure water models provide decision-makers with the tools to address poverty and inequality.
Project / SEI researchers work throughout California to model complex water systems and explore sustainable management options.
Project / SEI researchers build water models and work with stakeholders throughout Africa to explore management strategies for an uncertain climate future.
Project / SEI researchers apply a range of economic methods to explore the value of water and enable plans that foster cooperation across sectors and boundaries.
Other publication / Cooperation in the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus among countries sharing the Syr Darya River Basin can improve local livelihoods.
SEI brief / Policy-makers can now model the effect of management options on the availability of habitat and the viability of aquatic species.
SEI report / This report presents a pathways approach designed to foster collaboration between researchers, practitioners and stakeholders who manage and allocate water.
Journal article / The key research question in this study is whether water-scarce megacities are consuming energy to conserve local water resources.
Project / SEI is building a water allocation and hydrology model in the Upper Klamath River basin.
Project / SEI has provided forecasting and long-term water supply projections for Colorado Springs Utilities for nearly a decade.
Project / SEI uses its flagship water modelling software, WEAP, to update the California Water Plan.
Project / SEI researchers are developing a long-range automated water forecasting tool for the California State Water Resources Control Board.
Design and development by Soapbox.