Watershed Benefit-Cost Screening Tool

The Freshwater Trust needed a way to estimate the cost of meeting watershed goals and organize conservation and restoration actions into an investment plan. Radbridge developed an Excel-based screening tool with input from Blue Forest and piloted it in California’s Cosumnes Watershed. The tool compares 12 actions against targets for water quantity, water quality, wildfire risk reduction, and carbon.

Users set the targets, planning period, and implementation limits. The tool identifies the lowest-cost combination of actions that meets those requirements, estimates benefits and costs, and shows the share of the budget directed to disadvantaged communities. The results help partners compare long-term investment options, estimate funding needs, and discuss a shared plan with communities and funding agencies.