{"id":754402,"date":"2025-05-20T05:09:27","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=754402"},"modified":"2025-11-24T12:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:59:15","slug":"pwc-water-supply","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/pwc-water-supply","title":{"rendered":"At PwC, Mapping and Analytics Illuminate Water Risks"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[97842,404762,471742,22772,279282],"department":[488822],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-754402","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-agriculture","tag-business-risk","tag-climate-risk","tag-manufacturing","tag-technology-2","department-sustainability-risk"],"acf":{"short_description":"The business world has a Goldilocks problem with water. ","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Businesses have a Goldilocks problem with the planet\u2019s most vital resource. They have too much water in places they don\u2019t want it, and too little water in places where it\u2019s most needed.\r\n\r\nProfound changes in water supply around the globe are creating new risks across industries. In water-stressed areas, manufacturers, apparel firms, and farmers must balance water consumption with the needs of local communities. In other places, increased rainfall can trigger flooding in retail centers and shut down supply corridors\u2014or lead farmers to reconsider the types and locations of crops they grow."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Snapshot<\/strong>: The business community has a Goldilocks problem with water. A top consulting firm is helping them spot the risks and plan accordingly.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The nonprofit CDP estimates that water-related disruptions cost companies billions of dollars in value<\/a> each year.\r\n\r\nBusinesses and advisers are turning to mapping and analytics\u2014interpreting data in a geographic context\u2014to reassess the impacts of water<\/a> on operations, physical assets, supply chains, employees, and investments.\r\n\r\nAt global consultancy PwC, its solution called Geospatial Climate Intelligence (GCI) relies on location technology to model climate impacts for Fortune 500 clients. Of the 12 main perils the platform monitors, many involve water directly or indirectly, including floods, cyclones, storm surges, drought, sea level rise, and heat stress.\r\n\r\nWith a dashboard powered by geographic information system (GIS) software<\/a>, PwC\u2019s consultants analyze companies\u2019 physical footprints to identify risks. This location intelligence helps organizations adapt strategies for greater resilience against water-related challenges.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s something about the GIS technology that brings [the situation] to life,\u201d says Steve Bochanksi, who leads PwC\u2019s climate risk modeling team. \u201cYou can contextualize the risk profile.\u201d By blending climate data and satellite imagery, \u201cwe can zoom in and see why this particular location is at higher risk than this location a few miles away.\u201d\r\n

The New Global Map of Water Supply and Impacts<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nPwC\u2019s sustainability team\u2014including climate scientists, actuaries, catastrophe modelers, and data scientists\u2014builds hazard and loss models from over 100 data sources, providing business leaders with crucial clarity for long-term investment decisions.\r\n\r\nTheir models allow PwC\u2019s climate risk team to deliver precise projections for the frequency and severity of extreme events through the year 2100."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Related Read:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\/\/ He wrote the book on water.<\/a>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"GIS shows these risks on a global map of a client\u2019s offices, warehouses, and other key locations. With a click, clients can see risks from individual perils like extreme heat or clusters of hazards. Areas of highest exposure are colored dark yellow, orange, or red.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s just such a compelling visual,\u201d Bochanski says. \u201cIt gets their attention right away. As a way to engage the client in conversation, it\u2019s super useful.\u201d\r\n\r\nFor a more granular view\u2014down to 10-meter resolution in the US for some hazards\u2014analysts can zoom in on a warehouse, for instance, and project its vulnerability to Category 3 hurricanes over the next decade. Analyzing a building\u2019s construction type or the vegetation surrounding a facility helps the team more accurately estimate damage due to hazards like storms<\/a>.\r\n\r\nThree fields in particular\u2014technology, manufacturing, and agriculture\u2014illustrate how savvy companies are using climate risk intelligence to stay ahead of rapid changes in the resource that covers most of the globe.\r\n

AI\u2019s Rise Elevates the Value of Water for Tech Firms<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nWater is a critical input for some of the most advanced technological facilities on the planet\u2014from semiconductor fabrication plants to data centers powering AI platforms. For many data center operators, water is the cheapest way to cool servers that require temperatures of 64 to 72 degrees<\/a> to function.\r\n\r\nTech companies need geographic context to ensure that facilities built today won\u2019t exhaust the water supply\u2014or be underwater\u2014in the years ahead.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt could flood on one side of the street and not the other, so if you\u2019re off by a little bit, that can make a difference in your risk assessment,\u201d Bochanski explains. Some PwC clients that run data centers are weighing a switch to air-cooling methods based on location insight that shows water costs rising or efficacy of water-based cooling decreasing as temperatures rise.\r\n\r\nA single data center can require as many as five million gallons of water<\/a> per day. When multiple data centers are concentrated in one area\u2014like Phoenix, which has nearly 60<\/a>\u2014companies risk sapping a community\u2019s already strained water supply. A GIS-based hot spot analysis can reveal negative trends in water use, helping companies manage reputational risk and regulatory compliance.\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":754452,"text":"When I first saw how another team at PwC was using GIS technology, I immediately saw its potential for our work and knew we had to bring it in.","author_name":"Steve Bochanksi, PwC, Climate Risk Leader","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

To Protect Supply Chains, Manufacturers Seek a Global Picture of Water Risk<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nManufacturing facilities use vast volumes of water for cleaning, cooling, heating, and other industrial purposes. They also rely on intricate global supply chains increasingly vulnerable to water-related impacts.\r\n\r\nIndia, for example, has become a hub<\/a> for aerospace parts production, with factories that build composite floor beams and small engines. The country is also experiencing some of the sharpest increases in rainfall in its history. Waterlogged roads have shut down transportation networks and kept warehouses from replenishing supply, leading to stockouts for manufacturers and retailers.\r\n\r\nWith the precise location intelligence<\/a> provided by PwC\u2019s GCI tool, a US-based plane manufacturer might coordinate with Delhi-based suppliers to shift production away from an area endangered by flooding. Similarly, insight on water pollution or water stress could inform longer-term strategies about which regions to source parts from.\r\n\r\nFor food makers and other manufacturers reliant on agricultural inputs, PwC\u2019s custom-built agricultural dashboard evaluates growing conditions around the world. The GCI tool assesses regional drought risks to anticipate impacts on pricing or production.\r\n\r\nFor a global picture of water risk, a manufacturing CEO could use a smart map to analyze which ports in the organization\u2019s supply chain are most vulnerable to natural hazards, or how population migration due to water stress could impact a supplier\u2019s workforce.\r\n

To Find the Future of Farming, Follow the Water<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFor farmers, water competition and stress are immediate realities, not abstractions. Currently, a quarter of all crops are grown in areas with unreliable or highly stressed water supplies,<\/a> or both.\r\n\r\nAgricultural companies use mapping and analytics to identify crop-growing regions that might be too water stressed to support cultivation in the future.\r\n\r\nThe same analysis can indicate which areas may grow more favorable for farming as water availability and temperatures shift. In the US, there are signs that the Corn Belt\u2014the center of corn and soybean production\u2014is already moving northward<\/a>, out of Illinois and Iowa and into Minnesota and South Dakota.\r\n\r\nAt PwC, Bochanski and team advise clients on optimal farmland irrigation using geospatial climate and water data analysis. When projections show suitable temperatures but decreasing precipitation for a region, farmers can use this insight to invest in new irrigation infrastructure.\r\n

Location Insights Guide Assessment\u2014and Action\u2014on Water<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nLocation analytics from advisers like PwC provide companies the insight they need to maximize resilience. With a map that shows exactly where water risks are highest, firms can install corrugated metal roofs or flood barriers where they\u2019re needed. An enterprising firm could use the same risk map to invest locally in technology that improves water efficiency, storage, or distribution.\r\n\r\nInformed by location-savvy climate risk models, businesses can make sure they work with\u2014not against\u2014a natural resource fundamental to communities and businesses everywhere."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nAs Water Supply Shifts, Predictive Models Uncover Business Risks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In fields like technology, agriculture, and manufacturing, companies are consulting GIS to assess and respond to a rising tide of water supply hazards.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/pwc-water-supply\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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