Water Utility Climate Alliance, Brown and Caldwell Release Industry-First Climate-Resilient Design Guidance for Water Infrastructure
New guidance translates climate risks into actionable engineering design strategies for U.S. water utilities
Press Release Disclaimer: This is a press release distributed through the XPR Media network. It has not been independently verified by our newsroom.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Sept. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Water utilities across the United States now have access to a first-of-its-kind resource to help them design infrastructure for a changing climate.
Released by the Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) and Brown and Caldwell, the Climate-Resilient Engineering Design Guidance for the Water Sector provides practical, industry-ready strategies to address rising risks from extreme weather and long-term climate impacts. The open-source guidance helps water, wastewater and stormwater utilities design a wide range of facilities and assets exposed to hazards such as flooding, drought, sea level rise, extreme heat and more.
The guidance reflects real-world challenges and shared solutions from across diverse geographic regions and climate conditions, helping utilities apply proven approaches while adapting to their own local risks. In 2025, WUCA awarded funding for Brown and Caldwell to co-lead this industry project in collaboration with major utilities nationwide.
“WUCA is proud to work together with our members and Brown and Caldwell to address a challenge that no one utility could manage alone,” said Ashley Ebrahimi of Philadelphia Water. “The guidance offers forward-looking approaches that will help utilities embed climate resilience into planning and design, strengthening long-term decision-making. It also represents another important way we aim to ensure water utilities and the communities they serve can thrive in the face of emerging challenges.”
Added Dr. Tess Sprague, Strategic and Resilience Lead at Brown and Caldwell, who helped oversee the initiative: “This is a major step forward for the water industry. For too long, there’s been a gap between understanding climate risk and knowing how to design for it. Utilities are looking for solutions. This guidance translates climate science into clear, practical design strategies engineers can use today, while also helping utilities learn from one another.”
The guidance is intended to serve as a “living resource” for the entire water sector, with strategies that will continue to evolve as utilities test, refine and expand best practices. It also addresses emerging business challenges, including the growing impact of climate risk on insurability and creditworthiness – supporting utilities in proactively strengthening resilience in their capital programs.
“This work reflects the power of collaboration across utilities, disciplines and regions,” said Karri Ving, Managing Principal in Organizational Resilience at Brown and Caldwell. “By bringing together engineers, planners, operators and climate specialists, we’ve created guidance that is both technically rigorous and grounded in real-world application. It enables utilities to embed resilience into everyday decision-making and ensures that every investment moves the needle forward.”
Brown and Caldwell’s team of design and technical practitioners – led by Sprague and Ving – worked closely with WUCA utility members in shaping the guidance, which offers technical content while emphasizing stronger alignment across disciplines to support more consistent decision-making. An appendix addresses designing for future conditions, providing methods for incorporating climate projections into design processes, along with examples and checklists for practitioners.
The Climate-Resilient Engineering Design Guidance for the Water Sector is available as a free resource for utilities nationwide at: wucaonline.org.
Brown and Caldwell is incorporating the guidance into its existing BC:LongView™ approach with climate-resilient solutions and best practices to help clients address current and future environmental challenges.
About WUCA
The Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) is a group of 12 of the nation’s largest water providers serving over 50 million customers across the United States. WUCA’s mission is to collaboratively advance water utility climate change adaptation. WUCA believes climate-resilient water utilities are an essential part of strong communities and strives to advance water utility climate adaptation so that communities can thrive in a changing world. For more information, visit www.wucaonline.org.
About Brown and Caldwell
Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Brown and Caldwell is a full-service environmental engineering and construction services firm with 50 offices and nearly 2,400 professionals across North America and the Pacific. For more than 75 years, our creative solutions have helped municipalities, private industry, and government agencies successfully overcome their most challenging water and environmental obstacles. As an employee-owned company, Brown and Caldwell is passionate about exceeding our clients’ expectations and making a difference for our employees, our communities, and our environment. For more information, visit www.brownandcaldwell.com.
Contact Info
Jessica Reese O’Rourke
jorourke@brwncald.com
+1 206-749-2216
Attachment
