AWRCOS — Adaptive Water Resilience and Climate Operations in the Southwest
Advancing Climate-Resilient Water Management in the San Joaquin Valley
Starting in the San Joaquin Valley. Built to scale across California.
Why the San Joaquin Valley, and Why Now?
California’s San Joaquin Valley produces over $25 billion in food annually1 yet has lost more than 120 km³ of groundwater over the past century2 as droughts intensify and snowpack declines.3 4 The region faces compounding water stress with no easy fix.
AWRCOS is funded through the NSF Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (R2I2) and based at San Diego State University. Rather than prescribing fixed solutions, the project develops Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP): community-grounded frameworks that evolve as conditions change. This work is structured through a Water Oriented Living Lab (WoLL) model built on a Quadruple Helix framework, bringing academia, government, industry, and communities together as equal partners.
Water Oriented Living Labs (WoLLs)
WoLLs are real-life field environments where water authorities, communities, researchers, and industry co-create solutions grounded in the practical Value of Water.
Phase I Objectives
How do water extremes and policy failures compound each other?
We study how water extremes, groundwater loss, and policies like SGMA5 compound each other across an already stressed system.
What adaptive pathways work for the SJV, and what gets in the way?
Working with local water managers, we identify and test adaptive strategies including FIRO6 and MAR7 8 using a Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP) approach to understand what works and what gets in the way.
How do we turn complex forecasts into decisions people can act on?
We build decision-support tools (DCAIS)9 10 that translate complex climate and forecast data into clear, actionable information for water managers and farmers.
Who needs to be at the table for water management to actually change?
We are building a cross-sector network of researchers, water agencies, tribal nations, and community members working on this problem together.11
Climate & Water Challenges in the Southwest
The San Joaquin Valley is not facing one water problem. It is facing several at once. AWRCOS is designed to work across all of them.
Project Partners
AWRCOS is built on a Quadruple Helix model — bringing together academia, government, industry, and civil society as equal partners. CSU and UC institutions provide the research foundation, while regional agencies, conservation districts, and watershed organizations translate science into on-the-ground action across the San Joaquin Valley.
Lead institution for AWRCOS, home to the research team advancing water resilience science and co-design across the Southwest.
Visit SDSU ↗
Federal funder of AWRCOS through the Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (R2I2) Phase I program.
NSF R2I2 Program ↗
Research partner contributing expertise in hydrology, water policy, and climate adaptation in the American West.
Visit UC Davis ↗
Research partner with deep ties to the San Joaquin Valley and expertise in water systems and environmental science.
Visit UC Merced ↗
Advances applied water research and policy at Fresno State, working at the intersection of science and practice in the Central Valley.
View CWI Research ↗
Restoring ecological function and watershed resilience through the Sequoias to Sloughs (S2S) assessment and stewardship program.
S2S Program ↗
Serving the western San Joaquin Valley since 1956 through the Transformative Climate Communities program for underserved rural communities.
TCC Project ↗
Advancing land conservation and multi-benefit land repurposing (MLRP) along the Kings, Kaweah, and Tule Rivers.
MLRP Program ↗
California's state water agency, managing and protecting water resources to support long-term statewide resilience and supply.
Visit DWR ↗Meet the Team
Events & Workshops
Since launching in April 2026, the AWRCOS team has hosted our kickoff webinar and presented research at the National Adaptation Forum in Pittsburgh. Stay tuned for upcoming co-design workshops.
AWRCOS Kickoff Meeting
Our first webinar introduced the AWRCOS team, Phase I objectives, and our approach to water resilience in the San Joaquin Valley. Thank you to everyone who joined.
National Adaptation Forum 2026
Dr. Corrie Monteverde designed the AWRCOS research poster, and Dr. Amy Quandt brought it to the National Adaptation Forum to share our approach to adaptive water resilience and climate operations with a national audience. Download the poster below.
Co-Design Collaboration Workshop: Coming Soon
We are planning our first co-design workshop, where water managers, researchers, community members, and policymakers will work together on the tools and approaches AWRCOS is developing. Dates and format are still being finalized. If you want to be involved, let us know through the survey.
Details Coming Soon Co-Design WorkshopStakeholder Survey
We want to hear from you. This short survey (about 10 minutes) asks about water challenges in the Central Valley and beyond, what tools and information you currently rely on, what gets in the way of better water management, and how you would like to be involved.
Let’s Work on This Together
Corrie is the point of contact for AWRCOS. Her inbox is open.
clmonteverde@sdsu.edu