A Standardized Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool for Water and Wastewater Utilities
Water Sector Climate Emissions Reporter
WRF Project 5188
Climate action in the water sector depends on credible and consistent greenhouse gas data, yet many utilities have lacked a unified and practical approach to quantifying emissions across water and wastewater operations.
The Water Research Foundation Project 5188 addressed this gap by developing the Water Sector Climate Emissions Quantification Guidelines and the Water Sector Climate Emissions Reporter (WSCER, pronounced whisker). This page provides access to the WSCER spreadsheet tool and its companion User Guide.
The WSCER tool translates the Project 5188 guidance into a structured, utility-facing workflow for developing greenhouse gas inventories. It supports consistent boundary setting, source identification, calculation, and reporting across Scope 1, Scope 2, and priority Scope 3 emissions, enabling repeatable, year-over-year inventories that inform planning and decision-making.
The WSCER tool is designed for water and wastewater utilities developing greenhouse gas inventories. It supports a consistent, repeatable approach by enabling users to:
Calculate greenhouse gas emissions using standardized methods
Aggregate results by source category and reporting scope
What’s included
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A standardized spreadsheet that implements the methods, framework, and reporting structure of the Water Sector Climate Emissions Quantification Guidelines.
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Step-by-step instructions for setting up and using the tool, including data entry, review, and interpretation of results.
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When opening the spreadsheet tool, Microsoft Excel may display a security warning about external data links. This warning is expected and does not indicate any external connections. It is triggered by Excel’s built-in data model used to aggregate results across worksheets. All data sources are internal to the spreadsheet. Users should follow the on-screen prompts to enable content or dismiss the warning to use the tool as intended.
Download the Tool
Read the End User License Agreement here.
Before downloading, users must acknowledge and accept The Water Research Foundation End User License Agreement.
Project team and contributing organizations
This work was prepared by the following organizations, with additional contributions as noted.
Prepared by: US Water Alliance, Northern Tilth, Cobalt Water Global, and Stantec.
With additional contributions from: Brown and Caldwell, CDM Smith, Eddyline Strategies, GHD, Jacobs, and Princeton University.
Disclaimer and non-endorsement
Citation
Related resources and support
This tool and user guide were prepared by the organization(s) named above as a result of work sponsored by The Water Research Foundation. Neither The Water Research Foundation, members of The Water Research Foundation, the organization(s) named above, nor any person acting on their behalf makes any warranty, express or implied, with respect to the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed, or assumes any liabilities with respect to the use of, or for damages resulting from the use of, any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed.
The mention of trade names, commercial products, or services does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by The Water Research Foundation. Similarly, omission of products or trade names does not indicate anything concerning The Water Research Foundation’s position regarding product effectiveness or applicability.
To cite the tool and user guide: Ponder, D., A. Alsansari, A. Sweeney, R. Carpenter, H. Smith, J. Porro, and A. Carpenter. 2026. Water Sector Climate Emissions Quantification Guidelines. WRF Project 5188. Denver, CO: The Water Research Foundation.
For background, technical context, and full research deliverables, visit The Water Research Foundation project page.
This work was developed under the leadership of the US Water Alliance as principal investigator, with David Ponder, now at Eddline Strategies, serving as lead author. Ongoing updates and user support are provided through Eddyline Strategies.
To suggest improvements, report issues, or provide feedback, contact wscer_support@eddyline.llc. All input will be reviewed; individual responses may not be provided.
Special thanks to Harry Zhang, Ph.D., Research Principal at The Water Research Foundation.