Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed what they describe as the first publicly accessible Drinking Water Utilities Climate Risk Index for the U.S., a tool designed to measure how prepared water systems are for worsening climate extremes.
Their findings, now published in Communications Earth & Environment, show significant vulnerabilities across the country—and major gaps between the risks utilities face and what they report to investors.
The study compared 1,455 medium and large drinking water utilities with the information those same utilities provide in their municipal bond disclosures. By aligning physical climate threats—such as drought, flooding and extreme heat—with the financial records used to issue debt, the researchers found that millions of Americans rely on water systems that are far more exposed to the negative impact of climate change than official documents suggest.
newsweek.com
By Melissa Fleur Afshar
Jan 28, 2026