Rhea Bhansali

What I specialize in

I am the Founder & CEO of Caelra Capital, the world’s first dedicated water-finance intelligence and advisory firm. My specialization lies in translating hydrological constraints, basin stress, and water-related regulatory exposure into financially material signals for capital markets, asset valuation, and strategic decision-making. I work at the intersection of hydrology, environmental regulation, and finance, developing analytical frameworks that show how water scarcity and volatility propagate into cost of capital, balance-sheet risk, investment sequencing, siting decisions, and long-term corporate and sovereign value. With advanced training in hydroinformatics, water management, environmental engineering, and chemical engineering, I integrate physical water risk, geospatial stress, and policy dynamics into decision-grade intelligence for governments, investors, and water-intensive sectors including technology, energy, mining, infrastructure, and data centers. My work positions water not as an ESG consideration, but as a core determinant of economic resilience, competitiveness, and capital allocation.

Previous projects

I lead the development of water–capital markets frameworks and policy-relevant strategies that connect hydrological risk with asset resilience, regulatory planning, and long-term investment readiness. My work focuses on translating physical water stress, basin-level variability, and regulatory exposure into decision-useful insights for investors, infrastructure developers, and public institutions operating in water-sensitive contexts.

I have produced thematic strategy notes and market intelligence covering water-linked finance, infrastructure risk, and emerging financial instruments, including blue bonds and sustainability-linked debt. This work examines how water constraints influence financing structures, credit risk, cost of capital, and long-term asset performance, and how financial mechanisms can be designed to better reflect water-related risks and incentives.

In parallel, I have designed stakeholder prioritization and engagement strategies for initiatives operating at the intersection of water systems, nature-related risk, and institutional capital. This includes mapping key public, private, and financial actors, aligning technical and financial narratives, and supporting cross-sector coordination where environmental constraints directly affect investment and policy outcomes.

I have advised global infrastructure investors on integrating water stress and hydrological exposure into investment due diligence across the United States and Europe. This has included assessing siting and permitting risk, operational resilience under water scarcity scenarios, and longer-term exposure to regulatory and climate-driven shifts in water availability.

To support this work, I have built proprietary databases linking basin-level water security indicators with debt pricing dynamics and insurance trends. These datasets are used to identify patterns in how water risk is beginning to surface in financial markets and to inform forward-looking analysis on asset vulnerability, pricing signals, and investment readiness in water-constrained regions.

How can I help you

I support organizations working on water, environment, and sustainability-related challenges by helping them make sense of complex information and turn it into clear, practical decisions. This includes environmental risk analysis, sustainability and policy support, infrastructure and siting considerations, data analysis, and capacity building. I work closely with multidisciplinary teams to translate technical or environmental issues into insights that inform planning, project design, investment decisions, and long-term strategy. My approach is collaborative, data-driven, and focused on strengthening decision-making in water- and environment-sensitive contexts.

At a more advanced level, I specialize in translating water scarcity, hydrological volatility, and regulatory constraints into financially material and strategic insights. I support governments, investors, and corporates by integrating hydrological data, basin stress, and environmental regulation into valuation analysis, capital allocation, asset viability, permitting strategy, and long-term resilience planning. This includes scenario analysis, decision-support frameworks, and advisory work at the intersection of environmental systems, policy, and finance, particularly for water-intensive sectors and institutional decision-makers.