2025 Impact Report | The Water Institute

IMPACT REPORT

VISION

A future where all of humanity can adapt and thrive alongside nature in a changing world

MISSION

To reduce the vulnerability of people, communities, ecosystems, and economies through transformative approaches to interconnected environmental and social challenges

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD AND THE PRESIDENT & CEO

Water shapes who we are. In many coastal and inland communities, water is both a defining strength and an existential challenge.

The Water Institute was founded in the aftermath of crisis, but it has always been focused on what comes next. Built on science, innovation, collaboration, and a deep respect for place, the Institute exists to help communities adapt and thrive alongside nature in a changing world. That purpose has never been more urgent than it is today.

In 2025, our organization began living our purpose more intentionally, guided by a newly adopted fiveyear strategic framework that challenges us to think bigger, act more deliberately, and grow our impact with clarity and focus. This is not about changing who we are. It is about proactively showing up for communities, partners, and decision makers.

The work highlighted in this Impact Report reflects that shift. You will see a deepening of our collaborative role, connecting across sectors and disciplines to address challenges no institution can solve alone. You will see how The Water Institute is expanding community-led support across the Gulf and beyond, working alongside local leaders to turn science-backed data into action. And you will see innovation moving into practice as methodologies, models, and technology inform decisions to reduce vulnerability and build resilience.

While our roots remain firmly planted in Louisiana, our place-based expertise is increasingly being applied across and beyond the Gulf Coast. The challenges facing coastal and riverine communities are shared, and the lessons developed here through experience, science, and partnership are relevant wherever water shapes people, ecosystems, and economies.

As we look ahead, we recognize that sustaining our impact is important. Strengthening our organization, investing in our people, and stewarding philanthropic support are essential to ensuring our work continues to serve communities over the long term. We are deeply grateful to the partners, donors, and all those who make this work possible and who share our belief in science-informed decision making.

This report is both a reflection on the past year and a signal of what comes next. The challenges ahead are complex but not insurmountable. With ingenuity, collaboration, and a commitment to proactively growing our impact, we can continue to reduce vulnerability and help shape a future where communities are prepared—not just for the next storm, but for generations to come.

Thank you for your interest in this work. Together we can shape decisions for the future.

Merritt Lane Chairman of the Board

Beaux Jones President & CEO

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

H. Merritt Lane, III Chair

Christian T. Brown Vice Chair

J. Gerard Jolly Secretary and Treasurer

Beaux Jones President and CEO

Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, PhD

Gerry Galloway, PhD

Norma Jean Mattei, PhD

Oliver G. “Rick” Richard III

Vikki N. Spruill

Mary Ann Sternberg

Mike Katz

Mark R. Wingate, PE

THE WATER INSTITUTE’S STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

The Water Institute is entering a new era of growth and impact. Our 2025–2030 Strategic Framework charts the course for the next five years, building on our roots in Louisiana and expanding our impact to the Gulf Coast and beyond. Guided by our mission and vision, we are strengthening our role as a trusted partner at the intersection of science, strategy, and collaboration.

This framework is more than a roadmap—it’s a commitment to lead with vision and creativity. By investing in innovation, community-driven work, and institutional excellence, we are charting a path forward that is both proactive and transformative.

PROACTIVELY GROWING OUR IMPACT

IMPACT IN ACTION

Areas where the Institute has brought unique skills and advanced science and practice to create meaningful impact

RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST

Valuing wetlands, which offer immense environmental, economic, and social benefits

SUPPORTING PLANTS AND ANIMALS AT RISK

Science-based guidance and stakeholder coordination to maximize whole ecosystem restoration and ensure long-term resilience

STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Bringing innovative planning and decision-making expertise, grounded in science and local perspectives to communities

UNDERSTANDING EVOLVING FLOOD RISKS

Advancing the science of flood risk assessment and translation to help communities understand the extent of their risk and vulnerability and take appropriate action

MANAGING SEDIMENT RESOURCES

Transdisciplinary and science-based approaches to manage sediment as a scarce and vital natural resource

ADVANCING COMMUNITY-LED ACTION

Bringing knowledge and expertise to coastal communities, ensuring they have the resources and support needed to thrive alongside nature in a changing future

IMPACT IN ACTION

Guided by our newly adopted five-year Strategic Framework, we acted with intention in 2025—deepening partnerships, standing alongside communities, and applying innovative tools and methods.

The stories that follow reflect how our mission comes to life through collaboration, community-led action and innovation. They reflect The Water Institute’s focus on supporting neighbors navigating uncertainty, plants and animals at risk, leaders making difficult decisions, and communities working toward stronger futures.

Water Institute 2025 By the Numbers 80+ EMPLOYEES across 14 states

PROJECTS in 2025 at the local, state, and national levels

14 PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES Published

48 NEW RESEARCH ENGAGEMENTS

7% REPRESENTED of the Institute’s total revenues PHILANTHROPY CHARITABLE GIVING INCREASED 250% over 2024

Complex challenges cannot be solved in isolation, they require collaboration that bridges disciplines, sectors, and communities. In 2025 we set forth to strengthen our partnerships across sectors and geographies—bringing together researchers, communities, agencies, industry, and academia. Here are some of the year’s partnerships that reflect the power of shared purpose.

Evaluating 20 years of Coastal Investment

In the lead-up to the 20th anniversary of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Coastal Master Plan team sought to explore how investments in building land and restoring ecosystems, improving structural risk reduction systems, and supporting flood risk mitigation through nonstructural efforts have reduced flood risk across Louisiana’s coast. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Building on tools developed for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan, The Water Institute used advanced hindcast modeling to assess the real-world benefits of post-Katrina investments—providing evidence to guide and justify the next generation of coastal protection and restoration decisions. The $18 billion investment in the Greater New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS), for example, has already paid for itself and will continue to do so, preventing flooding and avoiding billions of dollars in damage.

“Twenty years after Katrina, we can say with confidence that Louisiana is safer, stronger, and more resilient. The Hindcast findings tell us investments we’ve made have protected countless lives and livelihoods, and we are committed to building on this progress for generations to come.”

MICHAEL

HARE Executive Director, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority

Monitoring Across the Food Web to Strengthen Ecosystems, Communities, and Economies

Healthy marsh basins mean stronger fisheries, more resilient ecosystems, and greater long-term benefits for coastal communities that rely on Louisiana’s wetlands for jobs, culture, and protection. In the Barataria Basin of Louisiana, The Water Institute Coastal Ecology team is studying critters at the base of the food web as well as how that energy flows up to higher consumers that live in natural and restored marshes in southeastern Louisiana. These organisms serve an important role in feeding commercially and recreationally important wildlife such as fish, shrimp, crabs, and birds. These Lower Trophic Level and Nekton monitoring activities help support the assessment of restoration outcomes and are collaborative, multi-year efforts led by the Institute.

Partners include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana State University, University of California Santa Cruz, Florida State University, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This work is part of a cooperative agreement between NOAA and The Water Institute under the Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP), which restores natural resources after disasters like oil spills or releases of hazardous waste. In 2025, NOAA extended the initial five-year cooperative agreement though 2029, continuing the DARRP activities and providing NOAA DARRP with flexible scientific capacity to support restoration evaluation and long-term adaptive management.

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RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST SUPPORTING PLANTS AND ANIMALS AT RISK

Top: Coastal Ecologist Emelia Marshall extruding a sediment core as part of Lower Trophic Level monitoring of key environmental factors such as water quality and vegetation.

Middle: Goby fish a Nekton species collected from the drop sampler by the Coastal Ecology field team.

Bottom: Emelia Marshall (left) and Geoscientist Maricel Beltrán-Burgos (right) deploying the drop sampler in freshwater marsh edge habitat in Barataria Basin.

A Wild Comeback

The Chandeleur Islands are a critical barrier island chain located within the Breton National Wildlife Refuge which serve as vital habitat for nesting sea turtles, migratory birds, and marine life, as well as the first line of defense from storms. The Institute is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners to restore the Chandeleur Islands to have the greatest benefits, such as increased sea turtle and bird nesting activity on Louisiana’s barrier island chain.

This collaborative multi-agency effort is a testament to the power of state, federal, and private partners working together to restore critical habitats and protect coastal wildlife. The Institute’s cross-disciplinary team brings together expertise across avian monitoring, sediment management, modeling, and remote sensing—providing technical analyses, modeling, and strategic support to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners.

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STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

SUPPORTING PLANTS AND ANIMALS AT RISK

Advancing Resilience Along the Mississippi River

In 2025, The Water Institute joined forces with the University of New Orleans, Nunez Community College, and the California Institute of Technology to launch the Coastal Resilience through Effective Versatile Adaptation and Sediment Strategies for SeaLevel Rise Engagement (CREVASSE) initiative—an ambitious, multi-institutional incubator advancing coastal resilience in the Mississippi River Delta. By aligning research, education, and lived experience, CREVASSE connects institutions and communities to translate river dynamics into practical solutions for Louisiana’s future.

Designed to accelerate innovative approaches to crevasse restoration, CREVASSE brings together cutting-edge science, engineering, and community engagement to better manage sediment, strengthen wetlands, and protect navigation and infrastructure. The two-year effort also invests in workforce development, equipping the next generation of coastal practitioners with the tools and training needed to support adaptive, scienceinformed river management.

Putting

Sediment and Science to Work

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RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST MANAGING SEDIMENT RESOURCES

The Partnership for Our Working Coast (POWC) is a public-private-non-profit alliance led by The Water Institute that brings together energy companies, conservation groups, local institutions, and community partners to strengthen Louisiana’s working coast. What began as a channel-deepening project at Port Fourchon became something more: an opportunity to use millions of cubic yards of dredged sediment to rebuild wetlands that protect infrastructure, restore habitat, and support coastal communities.

Through rigorous science and local engagement, partners have advanced nature-based restoration projects designed to withstand sea-level rise and storms—while generating measurable ecosystem and carbon benefits. The program created a Nature-Based Solutions Living Lab to facilitate collaboration and nurture the next generation to work creatively toward Louisiana’s future restoration needs. In 2025, the Living Lab expanded its impact by awarding three competitive grants to graduate students and researchers advancing solutions to critical regional challenges—from aging infrastructure and coastal erosion to climate change, economic diversification, and insurance resilience—ensuring this collaboration continues to invest in both place and people.

Convening a Basin-Wide Vision for the Next Century

In advance of the 100th anniversary of the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, The Water Institute partnered with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program to frame and launch the Mississippi River 100 Initiative (MR100)—a bold, two-year, basin-wide initiative that explores the flood’s historical, cultural, scientific, economic, and policy impacts with the next 100 years in mind. Together, we built the framework and convened a growing network of collaborators spanning science and academia, government, industry, non-profit organizations, foundations, cultural organizations, and community leaders from across the Mississippi River Basin.

During this planning phase, initial partnerships, events, initiatives, and programming were identified and structured to make broad participation for organizations or individuals easy at any point during the next two years.

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RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST

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RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST

MANAGING SEDIMENT RESOURCES

credit: NOAA.

EXTENDING IMPACT TO GEOGRAPHIES

WITH SIMILAR CHALLENGES

Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region are on the frontlines of some of the greatest challenges facing coastal, deltaic, and riverine communities around the globe—and at the forefront of associated approaches to tackling them. In 2025, while still rooted in the Gulf, The Water Institute team continued to offer place-based expertise to geographies facing similar challenges.

Nature-based Solutions at MacDill Air Force Base

Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, MacDill Air Force Base faces mounting shoreline erosion and flooding—challenges familiar to communities across Louisiana and the broader Gulf region. In 2025, The Water Institute brought its coastal expertise to support the exploration of nature-based solutions that strengthen both infrastructure and ecosystems.

Working with partners including the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Florida Audubon Society, and Coastal Engineering Consultants, Inc., our team is evaluating strategies such as restoring longshore bar systems, expanding shallow shelf habitat, and creating barrier islands to reduce risk while enhancing environmental benefits. Using a Structured Decision Making process that is informed with numerical modeling, field data collection, and remote sensing, we are helping military leaders, stakeholders, and the public assess how different alternatives advance multiple objectives—coastal protection, operational continuity, habitat restoration, and regional sediment management.

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RESTORING THE VANISHING COAST SUPPORTING PLANTS AND ANIMALS AT RISK

challenges in the area.

Supporting Post-Helene Recovery in Western North Carolina

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, communities across Western North Carolina are navigating recovery-related challenges, including fallen hardwood across almost a million acres of forest and timberland. Recognizing the negative environmental impacts and increased risks of wildfires, a local donor invited The Water Institute to explore opportunities that might exist for the beneficial reuse of post-disaster debris like biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by heating woody debris in a low‐oxygen condition. In 2025, The Water Institute assembled a working group of subject matter experts to discuss how biochar could be used as a naturebased solution in the face of disaster recovery.

Expanding on the daylong biochar working session, the Institute partnered with Asheville-based resilience planning firm, Fernleaf, to host a lunch conversation examining effective strategies for regional coordination, including our experience with insurance-based solutions and resilience hub networks.

Representatives from non‐profits, municipal and state government, private industry, and local universities gathered for a crosssector discussion focused on how science and community-led collaboration can support both immediate post-Helene recovery and long-term resilience across Western North Carolina.

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“One thing is clear: Our region is ready to work together in new and impactful ways. We’re grateful for the opportunity to have these conversations and look forward to working with all our local partners and The Water Institute to help shape what long-term resilience in the face of recovery can look like across Western North Carolina”

MATT HUTCHINS

CEO and Senior Resilience Specialist

Fernleaf

Impact is strongest when it is led by communities. Across the Gulf and beyond, we are deepening our commitment to community-informed planning, technical support and capacity building, and access to tools and resources.

THE CRC WORKING ALONGSIDE COMMUNITIES

The Community Resilience Center (CRC) at The Water Institute was created in 2023 to address recurrent barriers to community-led resilience and to bring additional capacity to the Gulf. Through the CRC, The Water Institute works alongside communities to move beyond risk assessments and toward community-driven and proactive solutions that strengthen resilience at every scale from individuals and households to cities, states, and beyond—regardless of size or available resources. The Center’s definition of resilience includes the social, cultural, and economic factors that shape how communities experience and recover from climate impacts.

Exploring How Nature-Based Solutions Can Lower Insurance Premiums: CRC’s strategic plan includes a focus on Insurance Affordability and Availability because insurance prices should not dictate who lives on the Gulf Coast. With funding support from the Gulf of America Alliance, the Center led a pilot project in Dauphin Island, Alabama, to understand how marsh restoration projects that reduce flood risk can impact flood insurance premiums. This project is unique because it works to identify systemic pathways in which this information can be used. The CRC is accomplishing this by partnering with Moffatt & Nichol, the engineering firm who conducted the restoration, Munich Re, an important reinsurer in the flood insurance space, and residents alongside the marsh restoration.

This work is informing broader efforts to address flood insurance affordability by finding pathways to integrate risk reduction into premiums.

Rapid Technical Support: The Community Resilience Catalyst Program rapidly deploys technical support for addressing community-led resilience in under-resourced and marginalized communities. This initiative works with often overlooked communities to enhance awareness of pathways for increasing community resilience, provides capacity to these communities in overcoming barriers to resilience planning and action, and evaluates the efficacy of these education and technical support actions for enhancing resilience for individuals and communities.

Projects supported through the Catalyst include a fisher-led, science and data-informed monitoring program in the Lower Calcasieu River Basin, and Bayou Community Foundation on ANCHOR the Bayou, a grassroots initiative to listen, learn, and act on the challenges and opportunities facing residents in South Lafourche and South Terrebonne, Louisiana.

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Community Commitment at The Water Institute

Since 2023, has worked alongside nearly the COMMUNITY RESILIENCE CENTER 2,000 people across 20+ Gulf Coast communities through 155 events, co-developing community-led resilience strategies

$64 MILLION and has helped bring more than in funding directly to communities

Addressing Social Determinants of Health

Non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, also known as Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), can significantly impact wellbeing and quality of life. In Nueces County, Texas, where economic hardship and food insecurity contribute to stark health disparities, the CRC at The Water Institute partnered with Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and the Nueces County–Corpus Christi Public Health District to co-develop actionable tools that address SDOH.

The Institute’s team worked alongside an Action Committee of community and agency leaders to design a geospatial Community Health & Environment Tool, supporting story maps, data integration guidance, and priority recommendations for action. Together, these resources help decision makers better understand how social, environmental, and economic factors shape health outcomes—and equip communities with science-based, locally informed pathways to address root causes and advance equitable resilience.

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The CRC continues its collaboration with the United Houma Nation on UHN RISING, a tribal-led effort to build resiliency hubs throughout the tribal region, expand communication efforts, and develop a community-led migration strategy.

The CRC also partnered with Coastal Communities Consulting to develop a collaborative, science-driven adaptation plan to support Asian American shrimpers, crabbers, oyster harvesters, fishers, and processors in protecting their communities and commercial fishing infrastructure against environmental, social, and economic stressors.

COMMUNITY TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Program, the Institute team worked alongside local leaders and residents in 2025 to make flood risk information more accessible, practical, and actionable across South Louisiana.

Top: At a community event in East Baton Rouge Parish, residents gather around an interactive “What’s Your Flood Zone?” map as Institute staff share flood risk information and practical hazard mitigation tips to support safer, more prepared neighborhoods.

Middle: Applied Geosciences Intern Emily Miller and Planning Associate Brooke Mehney lead a working group session during a resilience meeting in St. Mary Parish. The group co-developed educational materials to help residents better understand flood risk data, insurance options, and potential Community-Based Catastrophe Insurance solutions.

Bottom: In Iberville Parish, Marketing and Communications Coordinator Jana King worked with local community leaders to craft flood risk communications plans tailored to their existing audiences, using trusted resources and learning how to keep messaging accurate and reliable.

COMMUNITY-INFORMED RESILIENCE PLANNING

The Water Institute, in partnership with St. Mary Parish Government and St. Mary Excel, codeveloped the Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub (ARCH) Strategic Plan in 2025—a communityinformed roadmap that integrates resilience, economic opportunity, and innovation across the Atchafalaya Basin.

Using a Structured Decision Making process, the Institute’s cross-disciplinary team worked alongside residents, businesses, and civic leaders to identify shared priorities, balance competing needs, and shape a collective vision for the Parish’s future. The resulting plan positions St. Mary Parish as a model for community-driven resilience and sustainable growth.

In 2025, The Water Institute’s team was also invited to partner with other communities across the Gulf. Our team is proud to work with these cities and counties, aligning science and local priorities: the City of St. Petersburg (Florida) on a vulnerability assessment; the City of Mobile (Alabama) City-Wide Resilience Assessment and Plan; Jackson County’s (Mississippi) Resiliency Plan, and the Walton County (Florida) Resilience and Vulnerability Assessment.

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Middle: Community stakeholders and leadership in the Atchafalaya River Basin area met for a workshop where they used Structured Decision Making to create a cohesive plan addressing conflicting agendas.

Bottom: Charles Wallace with a St. Mary Levee District leader on the boat tour.

SCALING INNOVATION

Some of the most pressing challenges facing communities world-wide are also our greatest opportunities to innovate. The cross-cutting socio-environmental challenges communities face are growing in complexity. Now more than ever, these challenges require creative, forward-looking approaches.

In 2025, we prioritized getting out in front of risk through innovation that integrates technology, data, and transdisciplinary expertise and methods—advancing solutions that help communities adapt and thrive in a changing world.

Advancing a Probabilistic Compound Flood Framework

Compound flooding occurs when two or more flood drivers—such as storm surge from the sea, extreme rainfall, high tides, and elevated river flows—happen at the same time or in close succession. Along coasts and river systems, these overlapping forces make long-term forecasting and planning difficult and can cause significant damage and loss.

In 2025, The Water Institute advanced a response-based probabilistic compound flood framework that integrates both tropical cyclone and non-tropical drivers into a single, unified approach. Developed in collaboration with Princeton University and Purdue University, and supported by partners including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Engineer Research and Development Center, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the Office of Community Development, this new approach allows communities to better understand the total risk they face from flood hazards.

By moving beyond isolated scenarios to a more realistic characterization of how flood drivers interact, we are equipping decision-makers with stronger, science-based insight—informing resilient infrastructure design, smarter investments, and community planning that accounts for the complexity of a changing climate.

Putting Life-Saving Intelligence in the Hands Of More Communities

FloodID®, the cutting-edge flood intelligence and decision support system, was a tool developed out of necessity here in Louisiana by The Water Institute. Today we are expanding its benefits—putting powerful information directly into the hands of local leaders so they can take action faster, protect more people, and strengthen resilience in their communities

During the 2025 hurricane season, the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and the Institute partnered to offer expanded and free access to FloodID® to several parishes and levee districts across South Louisiana, making the system accessible to leaders of 25 coastal parishes and levee boards. FloodID® is also being used in states along the Atlantic seaboard.

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Image shows FloodID® in action along coastal Louisiana during Hurricane Ida in 2021, displaying hurricane storm track and forecasted depth of storm surge. Additional parameters are available for analysis within the FloodID® platform.

Innovation in Decision Analysis

Through innovative decision analysis approaches, The Water Institute applies advanced frameworks to help decision-makers navigate competing priorities, quantify tradeoffs, and choose resilient pathways forward.

In New Orleans, where complex environmental and infrastructure challenges intersect with deep uncertainty, these approaches are helping leaders make clearer, more informed choices about the future.

Stormwater flooding remains one of the city’s most pressing risks. New Orleans’ bowl-shaped geography and aging drainage infrastructure mean that every drop of rain must be pumped out of the city. Using advanced modeling of the city’s stormwater system alongside Robust Decision Making approaches designed to better address deeply uncertain futures, Institute planners and researchers examined how factors such as increasing rainfall, sea-level rise, infrastructure performance, and land use patterns interact to shape flood risk across neighborhoods. The resulting analyses and visualization tools are providing decision makers and residents with a clearer understanding of vulnerabilities and help lay the groundwork for science-informed stormwater planning.

The Institute is also applying Structured Decision Making to support restoration planning for the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle in the Lower 9th Ward of the city. Once a thriving wetland landscape and cultural resource for nearby communities, the area has experienced decades of degradation following the construction of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Working alongside the City of New Orleans and a coalition of local and national partners, the Institute is helping develop a science-based framework to prioritize restoration strategies based on ecological benefits, costs, sediment availability, and community values.

Real-Time River Intelligence Network

“I appreciate the depth of expertise The Water Institute brings to complex restoration and resilience challenges.

Their commitment to sound decisions based on science helps communities and leaders navigate difficult choices with clarity and confidence. What’s equally meaningful is knowing they are also committed to advancing ideas and partnerships that benefit New Orleans more broadly.”

MEAGAN WILLIAMS

Urban Water Program Manager

City of New Orleans - Office of Resilience & Sustainability

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STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Safe and efficient navigation on the nation’s busiest waterways depends on accurate, up-to-date information—yet traditional hydrographic surveys alone cannot capture the constantly shifting conditions of dynamic river systems. In 2025, The Water Institute continued working with a network of partners to scale Crowdsourced Bathymetry (CSB), transforming commercial vessels into persistent sensors that provide near-real-time insight into channel depth and available draft.

With more than 60 active vessels contributing over 2.5 billion depth soundings across nearly 2,000 river miles, CSB now delivers one of the most comprehensive pictures of channel conditions ever assembled from working fleets. Through streamlined data processing, rigorous quality control, and close collaboration with navigation partners and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we are moving from static maps to dynamic, actionable intelligence—supporting safer transits today while advancing toward forecasted channel conditions that enable more proactive planning tomorrow.

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STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

MANAGING SEDIMENT RESOURCES

SUSTAINING IMPACT

Meeting the cross-cutting challenges communities face requires not only creative, forward-looking approaches, but also a commitment to maintaining staff unity, shared values, standards of excellence, and financial resilience to make bold, independent research and action possible for the long term.

CONNECTING PHILANTHROPY AND IMPACT

Addressing the vulnerabilities of people, communities, ecosystems, and economies remains at the core of our mission. In 2025, we strengthened the foundation that makes this work possible—expanding philanthropic partnerships and advancing strategic Mission Advancement efforts to ensure we can respond to urgent challenges with agility and vision.

Founded with seed funding from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, The Water Institute continues to seek diverse and flexible funding to pursue work that is both timely and transformative. Philanthropic support allows us to seize emerging opportunities, bridge funding gaps, and test innovative approaches that can scale to create meaningful, lasting outcomes.

We are thankful for all who have taken time to partner and collaborate with us, host gatherings focused on addressing complex environmental issues, and for the generous support we’ve received in 2025. We look forward to another great year of continued collaboration and advancing our impact in 2026!

Inspiring and Supporting the Next Generation of Changemakers

Made possible by a lead grant from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, The Water Institute raised over $100,000 in 2025 to launch the Justin Ehrenwerth Early-Career Researcher Award. This award will provide targeted support for early-career researchers advancing innovative, community-focused environmental science.

The Ehrenwerth Award recognizes the legacy of our late President & CEO whose visionary leadership and commitment to creating a better world transformed our organization and region. This $15,000 annual research award recognizes and inspires the next generation of changemakers who reflect Justin’s ideals and the Institute’s purpose: using science, collaboration, and empathy to improve outcomes for people and the environment together.

Investing in Resilience Where it Matters

First Horizon Bank is supporting communities in South Louisiana, strengthening capacity, reducing vulnerability, and addressing the changing hazards of the Gulf Coast. Through their 2025 Earth Day Campaign, First Horizon raised more than $50,000 to support the Community Catalyst Project. Through the Community Resilience Center at The Water Institute, the Catalyst helps communities address gaps in knowledge or capacity so they can focus on advancing resilience goals. First Horizon’s support, coupled with additional philanthropic support received in 2025, will allow Catalyst to expand across the Gulf Coast this year.

“Across the Gulf Coast, our changing environment is reshaping daily life. First Horizon proudly stands with our clients, associates and communities to build resilience, expand access and protect our natural systems across the region.”

EMILY CHAVIS

Corporate Sustainability Officer

First Horizon Bank

The Coypu Foundation Trust supported The Water Institute’s biodiversity monitoring in coastal restoration projects. With the purchase of the digital PCR equipment and funded pilot studies in 2025, the Institute’s ability to monitor and protect ecosystems through eDNA methods will significantly increase, detecting the faintest genetic traces of elusive endangered wildlife or catching the very early arrival of invasive species before they become established. This advanced capability allows for a more definitive picture of ecosystem health to drive faster and more informed conservation decisions.

Molecular Ecologist Shawn Doyle in the Baton Rouge office laboratory with the eDNA equipment funded by the Coypu Foundation.

“Unless we aggressively seek science-based best practices, there will be more devastating floods and loss of shoreline than ever before. This is an existential reality which we must deal with immediately.”

- Kris Kirkpatrick

Jane and Kris Kirkpatrick: When Responsibility Meets the Moment

For Jane and Kris Kirkpatrick who call Baton Rouge home, water is inseparable from life in Louisiana—a defining force that brings both extraordinary opportunity and urgent responsibility.

As Jane says, “With our state’s extensive coastline, bayous, rivers, lakes and rainy climate, water is considered our most abundant natural resource.” Kris adds, “This offers wonderful opportunities for recreation, enjoyment of healthy and abundant seafood, and many novel ways of transportation, but we also need to be fully aware and prepared to scientifically meet the challenges that go along with these opportunities.”

That sense of responsibility has guided the Kirkpatricks’ relationship with The Water Institute from the beginning.

“After hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit south Louisiana, it became evident that we had to be more proactive in how we manage living with water,” Kris says. As chair of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation at the time, Kris was part of a group of leaders who ushered the creation of The Water Institute in 2011 to advance the region’s research and experience.

Today, the Kirkpatricks see the Institute’s work as increasingly urgent and globally significant. “Unless we aggressively seek science-based best practices, there will be more devastating floods and loss of shoreline than ever before,” Kris says. “This is an existential reality which we must deal with immediately.”

This moment reminds him of a quote from Shakespeare: “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries.”

That sense of urgency inspired Jane and Kris to host a gathering in their home in 2025, bringing together friends to better understand the Institute’s work and impact. “Jane and I have always tried to focus our philanthropy on areas that have a great need and can produce immediate, important, and life-changing results,” Kris said. “We wanted our friends to understand the impact of The Water Institute and the work it is doing here to help bring about dramatic and worldwide change.”

Looking ahead, the Kirkpatricks believe sustained philanthropic giving is essential. “If we do not adequately support transformative approaches to the challenges our communities are facing now, we will be missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a huge impact not only for our state, but other parts of the world,” Kris says.

As Jane adds, “The work done by The Water Institute and its partners should be of utmost importance to us all.”

ENDURING GENEROSITY

In additional to the numerous governmental, academic, and industry partners, The Water Institute gratefully acknowledges the individuals, corporations, and foundations listed below for their generosity and philanthropic commitment.

Amazon

Anonymous

Aspen Clinic

Association of Bay Area Governments

Donna Averion

AWS

The Baltoro Trust

Annette Barton

Taylor Bassett

Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Mark Berger

Bonfolk Giving Good

Kia and Christy Brown

Mary Kay and Terrell Brown

Jessie Bryan

Colleen and Paul Bryant

Jeffrey Cahn

Capital Area United Way

Charles Lamar Family Foundation

Chevron

Cathy Coates and Brian Hales

Gabe Cohen

Randy Cooksey

Joshua Cox

Coypu Foundation Trust

Linda Cutler

Jessica Dandridge

Danos

Alyssa Dausman and Kenneth Lovelace

Linda and John Davies

Brett Davis

Larry DeMarcay

Monday and Partners / Earthjustice

Marie and Reggie Dupré

Seth Dupuis

Stevie Dupuis

Maya Dutt

Judy and David Ehrenwerth

Empire of the Seed

ExxonMobil

F.B. Heron Foundation

Micah Fincher

First Horizon Bank

Jordan Fischbach

Flavin Construction

David Fleshman

Efi Foufoula-Georgiou

Foundation for Louisiana

Gerald Galloway

Maja and Ioannis Georgiou

William Getty

Timothy Goodell

Tim Grayson

Greater Lafourche Port Commission

Greater New Orleans Foundation

Harte Charitable Foundation

Thad Hayes

Robb Henzi

Lindsey Ehrenwerth Herman

Camille Hill-Prewitt

Ty Hingle

Holdfast Collective

Hudson River Foundation

Jewish Healthcare Foundation

Donna and Jerry Jolly

Danni and Bert Jones

Patricia Jones

Emilie Bahr and Beaux Jones

Josef Sternberg Memorial Fund

Mary Terrell Joseph

Tricia Joseph

Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation

JP Morgan Chase

JPRC Energy

Martha and Joseph Juban

Kanner and Whiteley

Blaire Fernandez and Mike Katz

Jane and Kris Kirkpatrick

Debbie and Kevin Knobloch

Anne Teague Landis

Elly and Merritt Lane

The Lantzman Feinstein Family

Carolyn Leftwich

Babs and Jim Lopez

Dawn Lopez

Julie Sanders and Jimmy Lopez

Lycee Francais de Chicago

Isaac MacDonald

Brenda Manard

Chad Martorana

Mary Matalin

Norma Jean Mattei

Frank McArthur

Noy and Stokes McConnell Jr.

Madison McLoughlin

Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

Miller Sullivan Demarcay LLC

Steven Montgomery

Lynn and James W. Moore Jr.

Stephanie Morris

Zachary and Anna Morris

Claiborne and Pierre Moses

MSMM

David Muth

Network for Good

Virginia and John Noland

Northshore Community Foundation

OneStar Foundation

Adam Parker

Patagonia

Harriett Pooler

Ashley Porter

Linda and Mark Posner

Mehdi Qalbani

Winifred and Kevin Reilly, Jr.

Kimberly Reyher

Oliver G. “Rick” Richard, III

RMS

Amy and Hugh J. Roberts

Davis Rosborough

Naamah Paley Rose and Stephen Rose

Ross Family Foundation

Brandy Ballard Rush

Thomas Sands

Claire Sargenti

Carol Huval Saucier

Emily Schoenbaum

Judy Schwartzer

The Selley Foundation

William Shafroth

Shell

Jonathan Sousa

Linda and John Spain

Vikki Spruill

Donna Sternberg

Emily Douglass Stewart

Andrew Sullivan

Rob Tarlock

Mr. Rhett Thiel

Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas

Joni Tuck

Stephanie Turner

United Nations Foundation

U.S. Energy Foundation

Sarah Waits

Walton Family Foundation

Stephen Watson

Amanda Spain Wells

Caroline Wendt

The Wilbur Marvin Foundation

Kevin Wilkins

Ann Wilkinson

Karen Williams and Cornelius A. Lewis

Jennifer and Chuck Winstead

Russell Woodard Jr.

Ansley and Jeff Zehnder

COMMITMENT TO SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY,

As an independent, applied research organization, The Water Institute’s credibility depends on the trust our partners place in our work—and that trust is built on rigorous methods, open science and data, and engaging with our peers through conferences, presentations, and workshops. We encourage peer-reviewed publications, accessible tools, and interactive platforms that translate complex research into practical insights for decision makers. Institute experts are committed to sharing findings, convening cross-sector dialogue, and elevating evidence-based solutions on national and global stages.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, AND OPEN SCIENCE

“Scientific integrity is about earning and maintaining trust. At The Water Institute, we are committed to open science, rigorous peer review, and transparent data practices— because communities and leaders are making consequential decisions based on our work.”

ALYSSA DAUSMAN

Senior Vice President & Chief Scientist

The Water Institute

The Water Institute was proud to have representation at several scientific gatherings with institute leadership in 2025, including:

State of the Coast 2025 in New Orleans, LA

Top: Alyssa Dausman, Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President, moderated a Day 2 plenary at State of the Coast 2025: The River Decides: Neptune Pass and the Power and Complexity of the Muddy Mississippi. Panelists explored how the Mississippi’s new channel is rewriting the rules for restoration, navigation, and flood protection.

Left: The Water Institute partners with CPRA and Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana on State of the Coast, a biennial conference dedicated to Louisiana's coastal issues. Our exhibit space brought The Water Institute’s mission to life, highlighting our partnerships, projects, and community-focused impact. Attendees engaged with interactive activities like the local knowledge mapping exercise and River Reflections recording booth, exploring how shared insights and data-driven approaches support resilient communities.

AGU 2025 in New Orleans, LA

10X Convergence 2025 in

Jacksonville, FL

Senior Planner Colleen McHugh moderated On the Front Lines of Community Resilience: Strategies That Work, featuring resilience leaders from Jacksonville, Austin, Los Angeles County, Northeast Florida, and Tucson discussing practical responses to climate risk, housing pressures, and extreme heat.

At the 10X Convergence, hosted by Ten Across, Beaux Jones, President and CEO of The Water Institute, joined leaders from Gensler and Blue Cottage of CannonDesign to open the Building Insurable Communities workshop. The plenary and interactive session highlighted cross-sector, data-driven strategies to strengthen climate resilience and improve community insurability as local governments take on growing infrastructure challenges.

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

The Water Institute produces a wide range of scientific publications to advance actionable knowledge and support informed decision making. Through our research, we address complex and interconnected challenges facing coastal regions.

Working closely with partners and collaborators, we publish peer-reviewed research that highlights innovative approaches and promotes knowledge sharing across disciplines.

Bartlett, M. S., Van Blitterswyk, J., Farella, M., Li, J., Smith, C., Parolari, A. J., Krishnamoorthy, L., & Mrad, A. (2025). Physically based dimensionless features for pluvial flood mapping with machine learning. Water Resources Research, 61(4). https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039086

Bartlett, M. S., Cultra, E., Geldner, N., & Portporato, A. (2025). Stochastic ecohydrological perspective on semi-distributed rainfall-runoff dynamics. Water Resources Research, 61(9). https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR040606

Baustian, K. M., Garcia-Putnam, A., Allen, L. M., Seidemann, R. M., Halling, C. L., Holland, Fox, A., Wilson, E., Murphy, A., Marcel, T. H., Boutte, K., (2025). Establishing a minimum number of individuals during a salvage recovery of a historic New Orleans cemetery. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105482

Carter, M. L., Seidemann, R. M., Newman, J. L., Reedy, E. A., & Halling, C. L. (2025) Applied expertise in human osteology: Legal and educational considerations in the United States. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 187(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70091

Cultra, E., Bartlett, M. S., & Porporato, A. (2025). Plant water storage optimality across hydroclimatic landscapes. Ecohydrology, 18(5). https://doi. org/10.1002/eco.70078

Enwright, N. M., Dalyander, P. S., Stuht, C. M., Han, M., Palmsten, M. L., Davenport, T. M., Kingwill, C. J., Steyer, G. D., & La Peyre, M. K. (2025). Multiscale framework for assessing land cover change on barrier islands from extreme storms and restoration. Journal of Coastal Research, 41(6), 1029–1042. https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-24-00084.1

Foster-Martinez, M. R., Georgiou, I. Y., FitzGerald, D. M., Hughes, Z. J., Novak, A., & Sakib, M. M. (2025). Understanding wave attenuation across marshes: Insights from numerical modeling. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13061188

Genc, U., Johnson, D. R., Fischbach, J. R., Grismore, A., & Haertling, A. (2025). Evaluating critical and essential service access vulnerability. Environmental Research Letters, 20(8). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adee30

Hemmerling, S., & Wowk, K. (2025). Coastal cities under pressure: Climate change and the challenge of continuous adaptation. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-14082-2.00118-6

Hughes, C. M., Shaw, J. B., Fernandes, A. M., & Swanson, T. E. (2025). Stratigraphic evidence of backwater morphodynamics and lowland river deltas in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2024GL112957. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112957

Liu, B., Shrestha, S., Li, J., Huang, W., Baustian, M. M., D'Sa, E. J., Bargu, S., Messina, F., Georgiou, I. Y., Kumar, A., & Freeman, A., (2025). Phytoplankton biomass dynamics in wet (2019) and dry (2023) years in Lake Pontchartrain Estuary, Louisiana from Sentinel 2-MSI and PACE-OCI observations, Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.181126

Oster, J. M., Henkel, J. R., Dausman, A., Windhoffer, E. D., Liu, B., Baustian, M. M., Reed, D., Langlois, S., & Lindquist, D. C. (2025). Advancing the implementation of coastal restoration in Louisiana through a co-production of science framework. Estuaries and Coasts, 48(6), 148. https://doi. org/10.1007/s12237-025-01584-3

Patch, S. M., Collini, R. C., Delaney, B. R., Bellais, K., Heming, M., & Caraway P. (2025). Adaptation pathways identify effective strategies for mitigating damage on a developed barrier island as sea levels rise. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 13, 1616495. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2025.1616495

Shawler, J. L., Hein, C. J., Georgiou, I. Y., Messina, F., & Sakib, M. M. (2025). Local versus regional controls on the morphology and texture of preserved beach and foredune ridges. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 130, e2025JF008429. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JF008429

LEANING INTO ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND LIVING OUR VALUES

As The Water Institute strives to proactively expand our impact, we remain rooted in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast—places that shaped our mission and continue to ground our work. At the same time, addressing today’s complex, cross-cutting challenges requires many hands, diverse expertise, and collaboration that extends beyond any single geography. Today, we are an organization of more than 80 staff—from a majority of Louisianabased team members to colleagues located across the Gulf Coast and beyond.

In 2025, we created additional opportunities for in-person connection across teams, supported evolving operational needs for digital innovation, and continued adapting our structure to align with our five-year Strategic Framework. As we move forward, we are equally focused on strengthening the organizational excellence and cohesion that make this work possible through an intentional commitment to shared values, collaboration, and culture.

CORE VALUES

TRANSDISCIPLINARY

WHO WE WORK WITH

The Water Institute is proud to collaborate through a broad network of partners from private industry, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and governmental partners at the local, state, and federal levels. Here are some of the organizations we have worked with most recently.

Acuity Design Group

Amazon Web Services

Amazon

America’s Watershed Initiative

Amite River Basin Drainage & Water

Conservation District

Applied Coastal

APTIM

Arcadis

Arizona State University

Associated Terminals

Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies

AtkinsRealis

Audubon Florida

Audubon Nature Institute

Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Bayou Community Foundation

Bisso Towboat

Big River Coalition

Blue Raster

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

California Institute of Technology

Canal Barge

Carnegie Mellon University

Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development

Chenier Environmental Consulting

Chevron

City of Corpus Christi

City of Foley

City of Houston

City of Jacksonville

City of Mobile

City of New Orleans

City of St. Petersburg

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

Coastal Bend Council of Governments

Coastal Bend Neighborhood Empowerment

Coastal Communities Consulting

Coastal Conservation Association

Coastal Engineering and Adaptation Solutions

Coastal Engineering Consultants

Coastal Protection and Restoration

Authority of Louisiana

Colibri Ecological Consulting

Comite Resources

Conoco Phillips

Corpus Christi - Nueces Country Public

Health District

Crescent Towing

Commercial Properties Realty Trust

CSRS, a Westwood company

Curtis Lab

Danos

Deltares

Department of War Readiness and

Environmental Protection Integration

Development Seed

Ducks Unlimited

Duke University

Dynamic Solutions

Edward Wisner Donation Trust

EEECHO

E.N. Bisso & Son

Environmental Science Services, Inc.

Ephriam & Associates Environmental Consulting

e/PRIME Media

Escambia County

Environmental Tracing

ExxonMobil

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Fernleaf

FitzGerald Coastal Consulting

Freese and Nichols

GFT

Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership

Greater Lafourche Port Commission

Greater New Orleans Foundation

GreenPoint Engineering

Gulf of America Alliance

Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System

Guy Carpenter, a Marsh Business

Habitat Recovery Project

Halff

Harbor Towing

Harmonic International

Hazen and Sawyer

HDR

A House Unbuilt

HousingNOLA

Hunt Guillot & Associates

Idea Village

Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios

Superiores de Monterrey

Jackson County, Mississippi

Justice40 Accelerator Core Team

Keep Louisiana Beautiful

LA.IO Louisiana Innovation

Law Offices of Michael J. Billiot

Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy

Louisiana Department of Transportation

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Louisiana Economic Development

Louisiana GOHSEP

Louisiana Office of Community Development

Louisiana Office of Planning and Budget

Louisiana Sea Grant

Louisiana State University

Louisiana Tech University

Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation

Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation

Lower Mississippi River Foundation

Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation

McNeese State University

Michael Baker International

Mississippi State University

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant

Moffatt & Nichol

Moran Towing

Munich Re

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Park Service

National Science Foundation

National Wildlife Federation

The Nature Conservancy

Neel-Schaffer

Nexus LA

Nicholls State University

North Carolina State University

Nunez Community College

One Mississippi

Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center

PLACE

Pontchartrain Conservancy

Port of New Orleans

Port of South Louisiana

Princeton University

Program for Local Adaptation to Changing Environments

Purdue University

RAND Corporation

Restore America’s Estuaries

Rice University

Ripple Effect

Royal Engineers and Consultants

SCAPE Landscape Architecture

Seaside Institute

Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans

Shell

Silvestrum Climate Associates

St. Mary Excel

St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

Stanford University

Stantec

State of Florida

Steps Coalition

StudioDRIFT

Southeastern University

Southern University

Tampa Bay Estuary Program

Taylor Engineering

Ten Across

TerraCarbon

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Texas General Land Office

Texas Integrated Flooding Framework

Texas Water Development Board

Tulane University

Turn Services

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Economic Development

Administration

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Geological Survey

United Houma Nation

University of Alabama

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Central Florida

University of Florida

University of Iowa

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University of Maryland

University of Michigan

University of New Orleans

University of North Carolina at Asheville

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Notre Dame

University of South Alabama

University of Southern Mississippi

University of Texas

Verisk

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

Volkert

Waggoner & Ball

Wetland Resources

WSP

WWNO

Xavier University

Walton County, Florida

Walton Family Foundation

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