Engineering The Future: Building Water Resilience Will Demand Solutions as Diverse as the Risks Themselves

Writing in Informed Infrastructure, GHD’s Maria Lehman argues that building future water resilience will require tailored, multi-layered solutions that reflect the growing diversity of risks from climate change, aging infrastructure and rising demand, rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

The article highlights significant water losses from leakage, the mounting economic cost of storms, floods and droughts, and the need to treat water as a strategic economic asset, citing research showing trillions of dollars at risk if action is not taken. It calls for sustained investment, stronger governance, better coordination across agencies, and the use of digital and data-driven tools to optimize existing systems, alongside regenerative and nature-based solutions to increase long-term resilience.

About GHD

GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 165 offices located on five continents.