This project will develop and implement a comprehensive Department of War (DoW)-wide framework for water resilience assessment, planning, and emergency response. The Water Resilience Readiness Exercises (WRRE) will establish a standardized methodology to systematically evaluate water infrastructure vulnerabilities across critical military installations, develop tailored response strategies, and validate emergency response capabilities through rigorous testing. By applying this methodology at three diverse DoW installations, the project will create an adaptable model that can be scaled across the entire defense infrastructure. 

While Energy Resilience Readiness Exercises (energy black start exercises) address power disruptions and their impacts on installation systems, they insufficiently address scenarios where installations lose their primary potable water source or distribution capabilities. This project addresses this critical gap through a systematic approach. The research will assess existing water-related data systems and emergency management procedures currently available on installations and identify gaps in current water resilience protocols and emergency response plans. The project will catalog pertinent threats specific to installation water resilience, execute pilot WRRE tabletop exercises at selected installations, and develop a standardized WRRE handbook and methodology that can be implemented across all DoW installations.  

DoW installations currently lack effective strategies to test water resilience during emergency disruptions. Implementation of the WRRE will significantly enhance the DoW's ability to maintain mission-critical operations during water disruption events, potentially preventing millions in operational losses. The resulting framework will provide installation commanders with essential decision-making tools for resource allocation and emergency planning while enhancing communication across stakeholder groups during water emergencies. The WRRE methodology will improve emergency response capabilities specific to water outage scenarios and provide evidence-based insights to inform DoD policy development. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2028)