IDEAS AT THE WATER’S EDGE
Water decisions shape communities, ecosystems, and economies. Here I explore the evidence, tradeoffs, and human consequences behind those decisions.
From drought and groundwater to the water demands of AI, follow the questions that reveal what our choices mean for people and places.
WHERE WATER MEETS LAND, ECONOMY & PEOPLEA WAY OF LOOKING AT WATER
Water policy reaches far beyond supply. A choice can create opportunity, shift costs, and shape a place for decades. These three questions make the value, the burdens, and the future easier to see.
Begin with the first question
Look beyond a single outcome to the economic, environmental, and social gains, and who receives them.
Explore the question
Make funding, affordability, and the distribution of costs and risks visible.
Explore the question
Test choices against changing conditions, long time horizons, and uncertainty.
Explore the questionESSAYS & PERSPECTIVES
Analysis and commentary on the evidence, tradeoffs, and public choices shaping water’s future.
Digital infrastructure depends on water, power, and local communities. Better disclosure can help us weigh the benefits and costs of its growth.
02How energy shocks reach household budgets, water affordability, food production, and the public systems communities depend on.
03America is racing to build AI infrastructure. Who benefits, who pays the costs of water, power, and public infrastructure, and who gets to decide?
04Every decision to entrust AI with greater responsibility carries a human obligation: to understand what could go wrong, who could be affected, and who will answer for the…
05As artificial intelligence weaves ever more deeply into the fabric of our daily lives—from chatbots answering our questions to algorithms guiding our online searches—the resources needed to power…
POETRY & REFLECTIVE WRITING
A quieter space for memory, change, and the stories that water carries.
RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
Journal articles and policy analyses on water resources, economics, and emerging challenges. Read each work at its original source.
Emmanuel Asinas, Sajjad Ahmad, Meghna Babbar-Sebens, et al. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 152(11): 01826002.
An editorial on the often unseen water demands of AI infrastructure and why water planning needs more transparent accounting.
Read the publicationEmmanuel Asinas. Chapter 6 in World Water and Climate Economics Research and Analytics: Guidelines of Economic Analysis. World Bank, 2024.
Guidance for assessing drought risk management choices through economic analysis, with attention to costs, benefits, climate resilience, equity, and multiple benefits.
Read Chapter 6 (PDF)Ellen Bruno, Andrew Ayres, and Emmanuel Asinas. Global Water Forum.
Explores the economics of flood-managed aquifer recharge, including how allocation mechanisms can support efficient and equitable use of flood water.
Read the articleAREAS OF INQUIRY
Six connected lenses for understanding how water investments and policies affect places, people, and the future.
Economic reasoning for a changing water future.
How do we make the most of limited resources? Explore the benefits, costs, funding choices, and long-term value of water investments.
Benefit-cost analysis · Life-cycle costs · Funding decisions
What choices hold up as conditions change? Examine scarcity, flood risk, climate adaptation, and decisions made under uncertainty.
Drought economics · Flood risk · Robust planning
Who gains, who faces the risks, and who has a voice? Bring affordability and distributional impacts into the center of water decisions.
Affordability · Community impacts · Participation
How can we restore groundwater while creating wider benefits? Consider managed recharge, Flood-MAR, overdraft, and land subsidence.
Flood-MAR · Groundwater sustainability · Incentives
What can healthy landscapes provide? Value ecosystem services and nature-based solutions alongside water supply and risk reduction.
Ecosystem services · Restoration · Multiple benefits
How does digital infrastructure affect local water security? Examine water footprints, siting, and the tradeoffs behind rapid growth.
Water footprints · Local impacts · Responsible innovation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m Emmanuel Asinas, Ph.D., a water economist and research manager. My work brings economic analysis into water resources planning, with a focus on climate resilience, equity, and the practical choices facing communities and decision makers.
I write to make the reasoning behind water choices more accessible. The work begins with evidence, but it must also face uncertainty, reveal tradeoffs, and stay connected to the people who live with the results. Explore the three principles that guide this approach.
02See the tradeoffsConsider resilience, ecosystems, and distributional effects together.Read the discussion ↗
03Keep people in viewAsk what decisions mean across communities and generations.Read the discussion ↗
This is a place for my independent writing and ideas. The views expressed here are my own.
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