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Aqueduct

World Resources Institute (WRI)
United States of America
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About

Launched: 2011
Record Updated: Sep 30, 2026
Geospatial data tool or platform
Open scholarly dataset
Aqueduct is a data platform run by the World Resources Institute (WRI), an environmental research organization. Aqueduct is comprised of tools that help companies, governments, and civil society understand and respond to water risks – such as water stress, variability from season-to-season, pollution, and water access. Aqueduct maps and data are used directly by hundreds of companies and are cited in many publications.

Domain Relevance

  • Earth and related environmental sciences

Mission

WRI’s Aqueduct tools help companies, governments, and NGOs understand and respond to water-related risks. Built on best-in-class, open-source, peer-reviewed data, Aqueduct has reached hundreds of thousands of users worldwide and informed decision-making within and beyond the water sector. Our research advances best practices in water resource management and enables more resilient, sustainable growth in a water-constrained world.

Key Achievements

Since its inception in 2011, Aqueduct has reached hundreds of thousands of users worldwide and helped put water risk on the corporate and financial agenda. Aqueduct data and methodologies are increasingly referenced by leading regulatory and voluntary initiatives, including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), helping establish a common, science-based approach to understanding water risk.

Community Engagement

Community Engagement

Implemented
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Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute funds
  • Contribute to peer reviews
  • Contribute to user research or user testing

Community Engagement Activities

  • Annual meetings
  • Conference participation
  • Interest, working, user, or advisory groups
  • Mailing lists and discussion forums (including Slack)
  • Social media
  • User research
  • Webinars and training

Policies & Governance

Policies

Privacy Policy

Implemented
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Policy Statements

Access Conditions

  • Open without restrictions

Board Structure

  • None

Community Governance

  • None

Additional Information

Organizational History

The current version of Aqueduct is over 15 years in the making. In 2011, WRI launched the first tool prototype to measure and map water risk. Since then, we’ve worked closely with academic researchers to bring the latest water science to our tools. We’ve also worked closely with our users to improve the tool’s functionality. We’ve expanded the platform to include new types of water challenges such as future projections of water stress and global flood risk analysis.
We update the tools every 4 to 5 years—whenever there has been a substantial advancement in the underlying science. For example, the tools were last updated in August 2023 in add the latest CMIP 6 climate forcings to our future projections of water supply and demand.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Fiscal sponsorship (non-profit)

Full-time Staff

1-5

Volunteers

0

Current Affiliations

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Contributions

Revenue Sources

  • Corporate sponsorship
  • Grants (private)
  • Grants (public)
  • In-kind contributions
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