About — Water Decisions

Purpose

Water Decisions is a structured knowledge framework for studying how water infrastructure systems around the world are designed, built, and governed to achieve resilience. It organises knowledge across four connected layers — from foundational concepts through to real-world evidence — making water infrastructure resilience accessible and comparable.

The framework supports researchers, policymakers, engineers, and students in learning from diverse international approaches to water infrastructure challenges.

Knowledge Framework

The site is organised into four interconnected layers, each linking to the others:

Ontology — Core concepts and knowledge domains: infrastructure systems, monitoring & data, regulation & policy, and hazards & risks.
Use Cases — Operational scenarios where water infrastructure decisions must be made, from flood management to leak detection.
Decision Patterns — Proven infrastructure strategies with typical monitoring methods — deep tunnels, flood barriers, smart networks, reuse systems.
Case Studies — Real-world water infrastructure assessed against resilience principles and mapped to the framework.

Every page cross-links to related content in other layers, creating a navigable knowledge structure rather than a flat list of documents.

Case Study Structure

Each case study follows a consistent structure to enable comparison across different infrastructure systems and geographies:

Decision Context — Scenario, infrastructure, hazard, monitoring, regulation, decision pattern, and use case.
Overview — Summary of the infrastructure, its scale, and strategic purpose.
Timeline & Location — Key dates, phases, and geographical context.
Stakeholders — Ownership, governance, and the parties involved.
Digitalisation & Data — How digital tools, sensors, and data systems support the infrastructure.
Hazards — Exogenous and endogenous risks the system faces.
Cost & Benefit — Financial scale and the value delivered.
Resilience Principles Assessment — Evaluation against the six Principles of Resilient Infrastructure.
More Information — Links to authoritative external sources.
Futures — Planned developments and emerging considerations.

Resilience Principles

Each case study is assessed against the six UNDRR Principles for Resilient Infrastructure, codified in ISO 22372:2025:

P1 — Clearly Defined Accountabilities and Shared Responsibilities — Sharing information and expertise with clear accountability.
P2 — Proactively Protected — Planning, designing, and operating infrastructure prepared for current and future hazards.
P3 — Environmentally Integrated — Working with natural systems and using nature-based solutions.
P4 — Socially Engaged — Active engagement and participation across all levels of society.
P5 — Adaptively Transforming — Adapting to changing needs through flexible, transformative approaches.
P6 — Continually Learning and Improving — Developing understanding through monitoring, analysis, and stress testing.

Visit the Principles page for detailed descriptions and the Assessment tool for a 7-minute resilience diagnostic.

Standards & Frameworks

The Water Decisions analytical framework is grounded in two key international resources:

ISO 22372:2025 — Security and resilience — Community resilience — Guidelines for infrastructure resilience. The first international standard for infrastructure resilience, developed by ISO/TC 292 with the contribution of UNDRR.
UNDRR Handbook for Implementing the Principles for Resilient Infrastructure — Defines the six Principles for Resilient Infrastructure (P1–P6) used throughout this site, aligned with the Sendai Framework and UN SDG 9.

Contributing

Water Decisions is a growing resource. New case studies, use cases, and decision patterns are added as research progresses.

If you are interested in contributing a case study, providing additional data for existing entries, or suggesting improvements to the framework, please open an issue on GitHub or contact the research team via the Visioning Lab organisation page.