The Western States Water Council is an organization consisting of representatives appointed by the governors of 18 western states. Since its creation, through adoption of a resolution at the Western Governors' Conference in 1965, the Council has striven to fulfill its chartered purposes. The purposes of the Council are: (1) to accomplish effective cooperation among western states in the conservation, development and management of water resources; (2) to maintain vital state prerogatives, while identifying ways to accommodate legitimate federal interests; (3) to provide a forum for the exchange of views, perspectives, and experiences among member states; and (4) to provide analysis of federal and state developments in order to assist member states in evaluating impacts of federal laws and programs and the effectiveness of state laws and policies.

The WSWC's '2010 Work Plan' states that the Water Quality Committee will work to identify the possible impacts of climate change that pose the greatest threat to water quality in the West and the existing work that assesses options for minimizing impacts.  As part of its efforts to prepare to meet future water supply challenges, the Council keeps its members apprised of studies regarding climate change and its impacts on weather variability and extreme events that affect water managers, particularly drought.