30 January 2013: The World Resources Institute (WRI) has released the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, a mapping tool designed to present high resolution data on water risk. The global map within the Atlas is customizable across 12 physical, regulatory and reputational indicators.

The Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, designed for use by investors, companies and governments, allows users to access the effects of water stress, flood occurrence, access to water and drought will affect them. Versions of Aqueduct have already been used by the number of companies, including McDonalds, Procter & Gamble, Owens-Corning and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to identify the impacts of water risk on supply chains and operations, and inform investment decisions. The maps can also be tailored for water-intensive industries including: agriculture; food and beverages; chemicals; electric power; semiconductors; oil and gas; mining; construction; and textiles.

Physical risk quantity indicators weighed in the Atlas include: baseline water stress; inter-annual variability; seasonal variability; flood occurrence; drought severity; upstream storage; and groundwater stress. The return flow ratio and upstream protected land provide for the basis of risk physical risk quality projections, while media coverage, access to water and threatened amphibians are parameters that determine regulatory and reputational risk. The release of the Atlas is the culmination of a three-year project by WRI. [WRI Press Release] [Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas]