OneWater Solutions

OneWater is an integrated, collaborative approach to complex water management challenges. By looking holistically at water’s connections to communities and cultures, we develop solutions that provide comprehensive benefits.

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Water is one natural resource we all share. It connects us all — and it affects us all.

Within and across watershed and community boundaries, our clients are tackling complex challenges as they look to sustainably, equitably and safely manage their water resources. Addressing these challenges requires integrated solutions specific to the regional watershed that are beneficial to local communities and rooted in the context of the global water cycle.

“At Jacobs, we recognize water’s role in the natural cycles of our planet; its connections to land, food, and energy; and perhaps most importantly, its influence on our cities, our societies, and our cultures. We use this perspective to help our clients implement integrated solutions to solve the most pressing water management challenges.”

Joseph Danyluk

Jacobs OneWater Director

What if we showed you how, with a “OneWater” approach, we’re giving communities, industries and regions the resource they need to flourish and grow?

OneWater is an integrated and collaborative approach to understanding and solving complex water challenges — not only those that we face today, but also those we will face tomorrow.

The OneWater landscape includes water sources — for example, streams, rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans — and water users, which includes all of us as well as the flora and fauna that need water to survive. In every location on earth, water cycles endlessly between water sources and users.

At Jacobs, we focus on optimizing the planning, implementation and operations of the complete water cycle, including surface water, groundwater, desalination, stormwater and flood management, conveyance, wastewater, reuse and environmental flows. We also work with clients and communities to identify and show how water challenges are connected across the landscape.

All water has value

We look at the water cycle holistically to discover what makes each watershed, each community and each water-related challenge unique.
Water challenges are interconnected

We recognize water’s connections to land, food and energy to solve complex water management and community challenges, not only those we face today, but also those we will face tomorrow.
Water solutions must be sustainable, inclusive and equitable

We focus on inclusive planning, considering the needs of all those who influence or are influenced by water, and prioritizing solutions that benefit people, the environment and the economy.

How do OneWater approaches benefit your community?

Engaging the full range of community stakeholders, including customers, businesses and public officials, to find opportunities for successful partnerships and promote social equity.
Identifying future actions and investments focused on climate adaptation and resilience, including tackling water scarcity and urban flooding with integrated water management practices.
Incorporating Jacobs’ domain-driven innovation and technology, including Digital OneWater — our integrated ecosystem of data-enabled solutions.
Prioritizing solutions that promote local workforce development, provide meaningful co-benefits and minimize community impacts.
Recognizing the circularity of local economies and repurposing traditional waste as a valued resource (such as using biosolids to produce energy, using reclaimed water to augment potable water supplies, or integrating stormwater in functional landscapes.)
Consolidating policies and ordinances that benefit multiple utility services while supporting economic growth and redevelopment.
Establishing measurable short-term and long-term goals applicable to community plans and priorities.

Webinars

Many Approaches to One Water: Implementing Integrated Water Management Regionally

Within watersheds and across community boundaries, utilities are tackling complex challenges in sustainably, equitably, and safely managing water. Addressing these challenges requires integrated, collaborative solutions that are specific to the regional watershed, beneficial to local communities, and rooted in the context of the global water cycle. Integrated or One Water approaches are not a one size fits all. In this webinar we will learn how two utilities – the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and Las Virgenes Municipal Water District – are addressing very different water quality and water quantity challenges.

All Water is OneWater. Let Us Show You How

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Jacobs' OneWater Portfolio

Jacobs delivers tailored solutions worldwide. Our global portfolio of OneWater 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.

St. Petersburg, Florida

Jacobs worked with the City to develop a capital program that addresses St. Petersburg’s challenges today and into the future – including utilizing stormwater as a resource. A OneWater, consolidated and integrated approach will result in cost savings from economies of scale as well as regional collaboration opportunities. OneWater is a sustainable approach to long-term utility planning that considers the potential impacts resulting from climate change; salt water intrusion; infiltration and inflow; clean energy usage; greenhouse gas reduction; regional construction coordination; and mitigation of surface water impacts. It requires the City to rethink how capital priorities are set. Utility systems cannot be considered in silos any longer.
One Calgary, One Water

Working with the City of Calgary’s water utility, Jacobs is evaluating potential impacts of drought on various systems as part of the “One Calgary, OneWater” framework. In addition to assessing infrastructure systems for Canada’s third largest city – water supply and distribution; wastewater collection and treatment; stormwater and green infrastructure – the team assessed the vulnerability of meeting municipal agricultural and environmental demands; utility financial and governance systems, customer and community systems; and the broader regional community. Strategies to mitigate critical risks are being developed and prioritized for near-, mid- and long-term actions.

“A OneWater approach opens our teams to view all water as a resource, not as stormwater, wastewater, drinking water or water for industry but as OneWater; we really start to innovate when we engage with digital, health or the environment teams. From the largest water supply project in California to overflow control in London to total water management in Singapore, with a OneWater mindset, our teams work to protect and give communities, industries and regions access to the resource they need to flourish and expand.”