Drought Management under a Changing Climate: Using Cost-Benefit Analyses to Assist Drinking Water Utilities

This project will help water utilities identify and prioritize drought mitigation alternatives based on a cost-benefit analytical approach. The project white papers and final report will help water customers, boards of governance, and other stakeholders better understand the total possible costs of drought and improve acceptance of drought planning and mitigation measures to minimize these costs. This project improves drinking water utility understanding of system-specific vulnerabilities to droughts by providing guidance on assessing the costs and benefits of leading practices in drought management and risk mitigation. The final report helps water customers, boards of governance, and other stakeholders better understand the total possible costs of drought and improve acceptance of drought planning and mitigation measures to minimize these costs. Project findings are also helpful to the greater scientific community in tackling fundamental questions on the application of cost-benefit tools. In addition to the report, an Example Cost-Benefit Analysis is available to download.