Oakland, CA, May 21, 2026 – The Pacific Institute announced today that the California Water Resilience Initiative (CWRI) has received the Distinction Award for Stewardship at the 2026 Global Water Awards. Presented by Global Water Intelligence, the award recognizes CWRI for outstanding innovation, sustainability, and impact in upholding high standards of corporate water stewardship.
CWRI is a private sector-led initiative to accelerate collective action across sectors to achieve a water-resilient future for California, established as part of the Water Resilience Coalition’s global collective action agenda. In response to projections that California will face a 10% water supply gap by 2040, CWRI has set a target to reduce, reuse, and restore one million acre-feet of water per year by 2030. CWRI is managed by Pacific Institute, with Ecolab as Basin Champion, General Mills as Basin Leader, and LimnoTech as technical advisor.
The Global Water Awards recognize achievements across the international water sector, celebrating initiatives driving meaningful progress toward a sustainable water future.
“This recognition reflects the collective commitment of the companies, NGOs, and public agencies working together through CWRI to address California’s water challenges,” said Cora Snyder, Senior Program Manager at Pacific Institute and CWRI coordinator. “CWRI demonstrates that coordinated private sector action, aligned with public policy, can deliver measurable benefits for water, nature, and people.”
As of 2025, CWRI is tracking 70 corporate-supported water stewardship projects across the state, which are collectively expected to deliver 554,000 acre-feet per year of total water benefits. These projects advance diverse water resilience solutions, including upper watershed restoration, floodplain reconnection, irrigation modernization, groundwater recharge, urban water conservation, and more.
Learn more about CWRI.
Learn more about the Water Resilience Coalition.