Water Resources
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Population growth, increasing demands for water and energy, reduced water supply reliability, climate uncertainty, extreme weather events, decline in critical ecosystems services, changing regulatory environments and the need for sustainable food security for our global population have created an increased need for integrated, scalable, system-level solutions.
Jacobs is leading the development and implementation of fully integrated solutions to help our clients manage these kinds of complex environmental challenges, where active management of the built and natural components of the water cycle are key to water sustainability. Our engineers, scientists and planners work with clients to improve the well-being of people by identifying solutions to manage risk, protect people and assets, meet regulatory requirements and offer long-term resilience against further variability and change.
As our world struggles with balancing water availability and demands, water pollution, competition for limited water resources and vulnerability to natural hazards, Jacobs works with clients around the globe to better manage our world’s water resources and make our water systems more resilient to climate change – because we believe it’s important that communities have safe, reliable water infrastructure now and in the future.
What we do
As our world struggles with balancing water availability and demands, water pollution, competition for limited water resources and vulnerability to natural hazards, Jacobs works with clients around the globe to better manage our world’s water resources and make our water systems more resilient to climate change – because we believe it’s important that communities have safe, reliable water infrastructure now and in the future.
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Coastal Planning and Engineering
We help to protect coastal habitats, assets and communities from threats such as sea-level rise, coastal flooding and shoreline erosion. From coastal hazard analysis to risk management planning and nature-based resilience, our solutions are helping to reinvent tomorrow at the coast.
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Flood Infrastructure Engineering
Protecting communities from the devastating impacts of flooding, we support our clients with the design and management of storm surge barriers, flood gates, levees and other flood defense structures for our rivers, estuaries and coastlines.
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Flood Modelling and Planning
Effective flood risk management requires a thorough understanding of current – and future – flood conditions and drivers. We leverage innovative modelling, mapping and analytics to help our clients understand and mitigate flood impacts.
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Ecosystem Restoration Engineering
From fish barrier removal to urban stream naturalization, our solutions utilize physical and biological sciences to help protect and restore the natural functions of disturbed or degraded habitats and ecosystems such as rivers and wetlands.
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Stormwater and Watershed Management
We support our clients with the planning, design and asset management of stormwater infrastructure – including green infrastructure solutions – that manage stormwater flows, protect environmental health and enhance urban areas.
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Integrated Water Resources Management
With our OneWater approach, we develop integrated solutions to complex water resources challenges, from basin scale to local. We provide consulting and advisory services to support strategies such as integrated systems planning, water conservation and sustainable supply chain management.
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Irrigation Services
We support municipal and agricultural clients with the planning, design and asset management of irrigation systems, including solutions that improve water efficiency and sustainability like irrigated wastewater reuse.
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Resilience and Climate Change
Climate change is challenging the resilience of built infrastructure and social and ecological systems across the globe. From droughts and flooding to wildfires, we help to prepare for climate change impacts with projections, risk assessments, policy and governance advisory, and adaptation planning.
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Explore our projects
Jacobs delivers tailored solutions worldwide. Our global portfolio of projects has supported clients with addressing dynamic issues like aging infrastructure, impacts from climate change, water scarcity, flooding and affordability. The solutions we develop in collaboration with our clients provide communities with the foundations they need to flourish and grow.
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Thames Estuary Asset Management (TEAM 2100)
TEAM 2100 was set up by England’s Environment Agency to create a long-term approach to managing 330-kilometers of tidal flood defenses in London and the Thames Estuary, including the iconic Thames Barrier. Jacobs is managing the first 10 years of the program.
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Environment Agency's Flood, Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy
Jacobs is working on three major contracts with the Environment Agency, helping to understand flood from all sources, as well as coastal erosion risk, and plan for a resilient future for people, communities and businesses.
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Innovative, Sustainable Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management
Jacobs is implementing major adaptation pathway pilot studies across three strategically important flood risk protection projects in the U.K.
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Pensacola East Bay Oyster Habitat Restoration Project
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) works with Jacobs to manage the monitoring, permitting and design of a restoration project, the Pensacola East Bay Oyster Habitat Restoration Project, along a 6.5 mile stretch of shoreline, which will help restore a healthy, functioning oyster habitat in East Bay near Pensacola, Florida.
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Helping Develop the U.K. Saltmarsh Carbon Code
Jacobs is bringing its global expertise of drafting carbon codes and designing nature-based solutions that restore coastal ecosystems to the partnership developing and trialing the U.K. carbon code for saltmarshes.
Meet some of our team
Read more about the talent who make it happen every day.
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Adam Hosking, Global Solutions Director for Water Resources and Resilience
As Jacobs Global Director for Water Resources and Resilience Solutions, Adam Hosking has responsibility for solutions including integrated water management, stormwater, flood and coastal risk management and climate change adaptation services. With a background in coastal geomorphology, he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and Chartered Scientist with more than 30 years’ international experience in projects and programs addressing climate change adaptation and resilience. He is Chair of CIWEM’s National Climate Change Panel.
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Nigel Pontee, Coastal Planning and Engineering Global Principal
Professor Nigel Pontee has over 27 years’ experience in coastal geomorphology and management. He has contributed to the creation of over 1700ha of new wetland habitat and has appraised over 150 sites. He undertakes blue carbon, coastal management and nature based coastal defence projects around the world involving beaches, dunes, marshes and reefs. Nigel regularly contributes to guidance documents produced by the World Bank, USACE , ASCE, PIANC and the UK Environment Agency. He is a visiting professor in the Faculty of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Southampton.
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Luce Bassetti, Coastal Planning and Engineering Global Principal
Luce Bassetti is a coastal and port specialist with more than 19 years of experience managing regional and international coastal projects. She previously led Jacobs’ U.S. Coastal Resiliency Program before being appointed Americas Coastal Resilience Director, responsible for developing and driving the growth strategy for Jacobs’ coastal resilience market in the Americas. Luce specializes in analytical and numerical coastal modelling, met-ocean characterization, coastal design and coastal hazard assessments to enhance the resilience of coastal communities.
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Charles Schelpe, Flood Infrastructure Engineering Global Principal
Charles Schelpe has nearly 4 decades of experience developing major flood risk management and water infrastructure solutions for our clients. His experience spans a wide variety of projects involving fluvial, tidal and coastal engineering, covering works including storm surge barriers, flood and lock gates, flood storage reservoirs, flood defense walls and embankments, erosion protection and managed realignment/wetland creation. Charles has supported clients with services ranging from the preparation of feasibility and economic appraisal studies to flood risk assessments, detailed designs, construction supervision and asset management plans.
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Elise Ibendahl, Flood Modeling and Planning Global Principal
Elise Ibendahl is a champion of innovation for flood modeling technologies, and throughout her 27-year career she has performed the roles of project manager and/or subject matter expert for over 90 projects related to stormwater and flood risk management in over 17 countries. As Jacobs Global Principal for Flood Modeling and Planning, Elise’s expertise includes hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, flood risk and stormwater management studies, CSO long term control plan implementation, hazard mitigation planning and design, stormwater master planning, green infrastructure solutions, disaster recovery, and regulatory floodplain mapping and permitting related projects.
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Susan Butler, Integrated Water Resources Management Global Principal
In her role as Global Principal for Integrated Water Resources Management, Susan Butler helps clients plan for and implement long-term OneWater solutions that integrate water supply, drought management and conservation strategies considering stormwater, flooding, urban design, equity, climate adaptation, funding and resilience. Susan has more than 150 projects in her portfolio.
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Mark Anderson, Integrated Water Resources Management Global Principal
Mark Anderson specializes in bringing integrated system-based tools, leading-edge decision support, and engineering expertise to the complex and inter-related planning challenges our clients face: water supply shortage, sustainable urban development, carbon-reduced energy portfolios, receiving water quality, extreme event response, and infrastructure capacity and resilience. Over a 25-year career, he has served as an award-winning leader and subject matter expert for over 100 completed projects on behalf of public and private organizations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and across the Asia-Pacific region.
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Craig Clifton, Resilience and Climate Change Global Principal
Craig Clifton is Jacobs’ global principal for resilience and climate change. He has a master’s degree in forest science and over 40 years’ experience in climate change and natural hazards vulnerability, risk and resilience. Craig works with a wide variety of public and private sector clients across transportation, defence, water and energy markets. He also works on opportunities to abate emissions or create carbon offsets in the land sector.
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Andrew Potts, Stormwater and Watershed Management Global Principal
Andy Potts has over 24 years of experience implementing innovative stormwater and green infrastructure (GI) planning, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, LEED®, data analysis, and design projects in urban environments. He has expert knowledge of GI design considerations and co-benefits and was a technical co-author of several state and city stormwater manuals and industry (WEF and ASCE) publications focused on stormwater and GI design and implementation.
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Laurens van der Tak, Water Resilience Director - Americas
Laurens van der Tak has over 36 years of experience addressing stormwater and water resource issues, including climate vulnerability and risk assessments, adaptation strategy development and cost/benefit analysis; stormwater utilities; stormwater, water and wastewater system master planning; hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality modeling and GIS applications. He is Past Chair of AWWA’s Water Resources Sustainability Division, and of the AWWA Climate Change Committee. He was co-lead author of the WEF Manual on User-Fee-Funded Stormwater Programs, and contributing author of the AWWA Manual on Climate Actions Plans - Adaptive Management Strategies for Utilities.
Read our latest news
From new project wins and milestones to reports, podcasts and industry insights, discover what we’re up to.
From our newsroom
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NewsStorage and Stewardship: How the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir Project Aims to Protect Florida’s Natural Resources in a Changing Climate
Jacobs is helping the South Florida Water Management District and its funding partner, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, restore the Everglades and protect Florida’s natural resources and vulnerable wildlife. Get the details on the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir project in this article.
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NewsTyndall Air Force Base Coastal Resilience Program Receives Presidential Federal Sustainability Award
The Tyndall Air Force Base Coastal Resilience Program has been recognized with a Presidential Federal Sustainability Award. Read how Jacobs supported this model for nature-based coastal resilience.
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NewsJacobs and The Nature Conservancy to Develop Nature-based Coastal Resilience Implementation Plans for South Carolina
Read how we’re working with The Nature Conservancy to evaluate large-scale nature-based solutions that reduce coastal community risks and enhance the natural environment along South Carolina’s coastline.
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NewsEngaging to Adapt: Building Climate Change into Decision Making
With its extensive 15,000-kilometer (~9,320-mile) coastline, New Zealand grapples with coastal erosion, coastal inundation and rising groundwater levels. Read how we’re helping New Zealand move from a defend-at-all-costs approach to a more holistic strategy of considering the whole coastal system.
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NewsNavigating the Rising Tide: Transformative Solutions for Coastal Resilience
Our Global Director for Water Resources and Resilience Solutions, Adam Hosking, discusses key trends in coastal resilience, from positive community impact and social value to the importance of thinking big. Read his perspectives here.
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NewsSafeguarding London's Future Through Talent & Teamwork on TEAM2100: A Q&A With Claire Bishop
Pivotal major programs such as TEAM2100 offer the chance to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges. However, while this potential is unmatched, so is the scale of the problem. To conquer this, a potent combination of talent, technology and track record is required, along with the highest level of stakeholder collaboration. Claire Bishop shares her insights into raising — and maintaining — this high-level, outcome-led approach.