Turning Water Data into Action: A New Tool for Reducing Water Demand and Increasing Freshwater Resilience in Basins at Risk 

Water connects more than it polarizes. This was one of the final comments shared during the Driving Freshwater Resilience for Climate-Threatened River Basins event at Climate Week NYC (NYCW), which captured the opportunity at the center of the discussion. Although the climate crisis is increasingly manifesting through water extremes, from floods to droughts to long-term drying trends, accessible water data can help turn shared concern and scientific knowledge into coordinated action in water basins where water withdrawals exceed safe thresholds for the environment.  

That is the goal of the new digital Freshwater Basin Threshold Tool (BTT) cocreated by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s Land and Water impact area and the Center for Geospatial Solutions (CGS), together with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The partners launched the tool before a full room in New York City on September 23, 2026. 

At NYCW, presenters described the BTT as an accessible, easy-to-understand tool that supports collective action, specifically for reaching freshwater resilience targets aligned with the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN). The tool helps corporate water users set targets to manage water demand from their operations around the world. It pairs globally standardized data with locally relevant information, helping companies reach their targets more efficiently, policymakers make more informed decisions, and planners identify sustainable actions based on seasonal fluctuations and long-term patterns. 

Following a presentation and demonstration of the BTT, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and WWF staff discussed how the tool could support decisions from the global to local level. Peter Colohan moderated the panel, which featured John Farner (Lincoln Institute), Varsha Vijay (WWF), Michele Thieme (WWF), and Gyan de Silva (WWF). 

Panel Takeaways: 

• Vijay highlighted the importance of standardized data in helping companies adopt and meet their SBTN goals more easily 

• Farner emphasized the tool’s regional value for stakeholders other than corporations, including those making decisions about where to site data centers 

• Thieme explained how the BTT can help countries advance global 30×30 targets and translate them into concrete policy, regulatory, and funding goals 

• de Silva elucidated how the BTT can save companies time and money. Before this tool existed, companies had to collect and analyze basin data and consult relevant stakeholders and experts; the BTT automates and streamlines those steps. 

Questions from the audience focused on three related issues: alignment across corporations, confidence in the underlying data, and the ability of individual companies to produce measurable change. The panelists explained that corporate targets are already broadly consistent and that the BTT complements the existing methodology by supplying standardized data. Companies can use the data to guide changes in both supply chain and water usage, as well as in planning remediation projects. Although measurable change will not happen immediately, one company’s choice to make sustainable water use decisions can lead to progress and motivate others to act. 

Looking Ahead: 

As the use cases for the BTT evolve, so will the tool. The Lincoln Institute plans to expand the tool’s coverage beyond the initial 100 priority basins it includes and broaden its use by soliciting feedback from other stakeholders, including policymakers. By standardizing water data and making it more accessible, the BTT can help stakeholders coordinate decisions, identify sustainable actions, and move from shared goals to collective action in regions of extreme water stress.  

Taylor Furrh is a policy analyst for Land and Water at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. 

Lead image: John Farner speaking at the Driving Freshwater Resilience for Climate-Threatened River Basins event at Climate Week NYC. Credit: Taylor Furrh.