Water Planning and Advisory Services

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Water systems are under increasing pressure from climate change, population growth and regulatory complexity. Organisations must balance reliability, cost, sustainability and risk in a highly complex operating environment.

We help clients navigate these challenges by combining expertise in strategy, economics, policy, regulation, and technical delivery. From defining problems and setting direction, to evaluating options, developing business cases and implementing practical solutions, we support better decision-making across the full water lifecycle.

Working across policy, markets, and infrastructure, we provide planning and advisory services to government, utilities, and industry. We bring a structured, evidence-based approach to planning, investment and delivery, helping clients manage risk, meet regulatory requirements, and deliver resilient outcomes.

Integrated water management requires careful consideration of how resources are used, reused and managed within natural system constraints. We help clients understand and manage the financial, commercial and environmental risks associated with water, ensuring solutions are sustainable, practical and deliverable over the long-term.

Working across regions and sectors, we apply global insight with local understanding to solve complex water challenges. This enables organisations to plan with confidence, optimise performance and deliver sustainable, long-term results.

Find the solution to your water challenges with WSP

Water policy, regulatory design and standards

We advise governments and regulators on design, implementation, review, and reform of water policy frameworks, regulatory instruments and sector standards, covering national water strategies, economic and technical regulatory frameworks, tariff policy, abstraction licensing and the standards that govern how water is managed, priced and protected across entire water systems.

Water quality strategy and advisory

We advise governments, regulators and utilities on water quality challenges, including drinking water safety frameworks, compliance strategy, source water protection, responses to quality failures and emerging contaminants, and the water quality implications of reuse and changing catchment conditions.

Long-term water service planning

We support utilities, government agencies and regulators in developing long-term plans for water and wastewater services, covering supply-demand forecasting, level of service frameworks, infrastructure sequencing, developer contributions and strategic non-revenue water advisory, including performance benchmarking, loss reduction economics and enforcement design.

Economic appraisal, business cases and regulatory economics

We develop business cases, cost-benefit analyses and regulatory submissions to support investment decisions, price reviews and funding applications, providing the economic rigour that enables clients to build credible, evidence-based cases for service delivery and capital investment.

Water markets and investment advisory

We provide independent expert advice on water markets, trading, allocation and investment decisions, helping clients optimise for value and manage risk in water portfolios.

Project delivery, commercial and investment advisory

We advise governments and utilities on project delivery strategy, procurement, and commercial structuring for water infrastructure, supporting the selection and implementation of delivery models including Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, Progressive Design-Build, DBOM, and PPP/P3, and helping clients establish the commercial foundations needed to achieve bankability, attract market interest, and deliver long-term public value.

Integrated water resources management, water security and circular water

We advise governments and water authorities on planning, allocating and managing water resources across competing uses, covering basin-scale planning, allocation frameworks, demand management, security of supply, groundwater policy and the regulatory and institutional frameworks needed to enable water reuse at scale.

Environmental water planning and ecosystem services

We advise governments and water authorities on planning and managing water for environmental outcomes, including environmental flow determination, water for the environment programs, and ecosystem service valuation to support investment decisions and water strategy.

Climate resilience, flood risk and decarbonisation

We help governments, utilities and investors assess climate-related water risks and develop adaptation strategies, investment frameworks and net-zero pathways in response, covering water scarcity, drought, flood risk prioritisation and decarbonisation strategy for water utilities and operators.

Water sector institutional reform

We advise governments on restructuring water utilities, reforming governance arrangements and designing institutional models that improve accountability, efficiency and investment attractiveness, addressing who does what, how responsibilities are divided and how accountability is assigned across a sector undergoing structural change.

Corporate water stewardship and water risk

We advise companies, industrial operators, investors and financial institutions on water-related risk across operations, supply chains and investment portfolios, covering water risk assessment, supply security strategy, regulatory exposure from abstraction and discharge standards, stewardship target-setting, basin-level engagement and disclosure against recognised standards including the AWS Standard and CDP Water Security.

GoldSET©: sustainability evaluation across the project lifecycle

Our propriety sustainability modeling software GoldSET is used to assess and develop optimum water stewardship solutions from a sustainability perspective.

Digital platforms

Our digital platforms perform a critical role in underpinning our advice and services. These world-leading tools allow us to collaborate across design teams, as well as with clients and the communities they serve; ultimately delivering stronger designs and advice.

Floodly

Using machine learning to predict river levels and flood risk.

WSP’s Floodly uses machine learning to predict river levels and flood risk. Its rapid predictions complement traditional hydraulic modelling, which can be slower, more costly and challenging to apply in complex urban catchments.

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Related projects

Australia

Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant

Preparing for a growing South Australia

Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Improving safety and resilience for erosion-affected communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

With erosion in the Kananga area causing large gullies that threaten local infrastructure and pose a risk to communities, we helped the UN design suitable solutions for local contractors to build.

Saudi Arabia

Transforming Flood Risks into Resilience

With people-centred engineering, the Jeddah Storm Water Program (JSWP) is more than an infrastructure initiative. It’s a transformative effort to protect lives, build resilience, and shape a more secure future for the people of Jeddah.

New York, USA

Sleepy Hollow East Parcel Climate Resilient Redevelopment Plan

This urban renewal project aims to transform a flood-prone former industrial site into a multi-purpose space using resiliency strategies to adapt to a changing climate.

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Wollert Waterways: A Sustainable Solution to A Commercial Challenge

Increasing demand for aggregates as a result of the transport infrastructure and housing boom in Melbourne prompted our client, Hanson — a leader in building and construction materials — to expand its current quarrying operations in Wollert, a residential growth area north of Melbourne. This expansion, however, required diversion of two natural waterways that formed part of the Findon Creek network.

Cape May, New Jersey, USA

Higbee Beach Tidal Wetland Restoration

The restoration of several hundred acres of marsh into a greenway provides habitat for migratory species, and supports maritime and early successional forest, as well as a public access network.

Florida, United States

Stormwater Management in the Everglades

The C-44 Reservoir/Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) covers roughly 6,300 acres in Central and South Florida. The massive, groundbreaking project implemented by South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is a critical part of a long-term plan to restore, protect and preserve the water and natural resources of one of the most unique environments on earth.

United Kingdom

A grand affair: how England’s longest canal could help solve the South East’s growing water resource problem

WSP is working with Affinity Water, Severn Trent Water & the Canal & River Trust to explore how the Grand Union Canal, could provide a future, more resilient, water supply for people and the environment.

Christchurch, New Zealand

Avon River Precinct / Te Papa Ōtākaro

WSP is helping to recreate the heart of Christchurch with a space that will promote recreation, tourism, business growth and central city living for residents and visitors alike.

Denver, Colorado, USA

Water Utilities Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation

WSP collaborated with forward-looking water utilities to test, update and refine a model framework to integrate climate change risks and adaptation strategies into key business practices.

Christchurch, New Zealand

Urban Creek Waterway Visions, Christchurch

Our water resources and flood risk management team is using water-led approaches to envision improvements for the social, cultural and environmental value of urban creek catchments in Christchurch.

Illinois, USA

Southwestern Illinois Levee Project

Southwestern Illinois faced a critical threat when FEMA announced the deaccreditation of its Mississippi River levees in 2007, risking severe economic and safety consequences. The region, home to over 156,000 residents and significant infrastructure, required urgent levee system upgrades to maintain flood protection and economic stability.