Community Based Partnership
A Community Based Partnership Model is where a local government or public utility aggregates multiple improvement projects together into single, integrated procurement, creating one point of private sector accountability for linear type projects that support environmental, social and governance goals for a community through-out its lifecycle. It uses a performance-based contract, linking the partner’s payment to specific, measurable goals. The private partner assumes both short and long-term budget and schedule risks, incentivizing best value and a whole life compliance solution. The public sector can also require its private partner to achieve specific Key Performance Indicators to create jobs and engage with minority and women owned enterprises to create resilience solutions that create green space and achieve other community and economic development goals. Additionally, the private partner can also source best fit capital to invest “at risk” portion of development work to provide an earlier start to a program which the government partner can refinance with lower cost of capital upon completion and certification of the projects that make up the program.
-
Milwaukee Church Breaks Ground with MMSD on 1.8 Million Gallon Green Infrastructure Project
he Fresh Coast Protection Partnership (FCPP), the community-based partnership between Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) and Corvias announces the construction of its first green infrastructure (GI) project at the New Testament Church of Milwaukee.Full story -
The conundrum of Water Affordability
The U.S. water industry has worked hard in recent years to remind people that potable water is not free. Procuring, treating, and distributing water is costly, and utilities need to cover their costs to make sure customers have safe drinking water, delivered at adequate pressure for on-demand needs at affordable pricesFull story -
EPA Invites 55 New Projects to Apply for WIFIA Loans to Improve Water Quality
Projects will provide water infrastructure upgrades for 30 million Americans while creating over 40,000 jobs.Full story -
Learn from the Leaders - Alternative Funding Options in the Wake of COVID-19
Join us as leaders from key lending institutions discuss low-rate options that can help utilities and municipalities pay for vital water, wastewater and stormwater projects.Full story -
Beyond Compliance: Inside Memphis’ SARP10 Program
Full story -
An Update on the WIFIA Loan Program
"With three years of solid results, WIFIA looks poised for long-term success. But the program could also be a very effective part of the federal response to COVID-19."Full story -
The Conundrum of Water Affordability: What Is It, And What’s at Stake?
Full story -
Turning Lead Service Line Replacement from an Unfunded Mandate into a Social Impact Infrastructure Investment Opportunity for Cities
Cities are facing an investment need of over $32 billion to replace lead service lines (LSLs) to ensure levels of service that provide clean and healthy water to their citizens. Although this is an unfunded mandate, delivery alternatives are available that include funding to turn this unfunded mandate into a social impact investment opportunity for a city to provide a positive economic outcome for the community.Full story -
CVWD announces $59 million loan to improve stormwater protection
The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a $59 million loan today to help finance two key stormwater projects.Full story -
Milwaukee in talks for Green Infrastructure Partnership
Subscription Based PublicationFull story -
MMSD Accelerating Green Program to Reduce Overflows and Protect Lake Michigan
Green infrastructure comes in many forms and sizes to help manage water where it falls to reduce water pollution. One inch of rain on MMSD’s service area equals 7.1 billion gallons of water. Green roofs, rain gardens, porous pavement, and other techniques help capture and hold water, so it doesn’t flow downhill, creating problems downstream or in the sanitary sewer system.Full story -
Third win for Corvias as green infrastructure P3 market evolves
The project developer has won every major green stormwater infrastructure P3 tendered in the US to date. Competition is heating up as the pipeline grows, but can the model ever fully embrace private finance? * Subscription based PublicationFull story -
EPA Receives 51 Requests Totaling Over $6 Billion for Third Round of WIFIA Funding
WASHINGTON (July 19, 2019) – In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) third Notice of Funding Availability, the agency received 51 letters of interest, collectively requesting $6.6 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. This exceeds the $6 billion that EPA is offering, demonstrating the critical need for investment in our nation’s water infrastructure and strong interest in the WIFIA program. - EPA Press OfficeFull story -
2019 Strategic Directions: Water Report
The annual Black & Veatch Strategic Directions: Water Report explores the issues and complexities impacting today's water landscape. From the terrifying scenario of Day Zero in South Africa's Cape Town to heartbreaking images of Midwestern towns completely flooded out, water remains a challenge for far too many communities around the globe.Full story -
How Community-Based Partnerships Transform Stormwater Management
Regulatory changes, environmental issues and costs are big factors communities have to consider when managing stormwater programs. Read how cities and counties are using community-based partnerships (CBPs) to address pressing infrastructure problems and plan for future growth. Learn how CBPs work and get practical tips for how to procure these types of partnerships.Full story -
The Latest Water Policy News
Subcommittee advances spending bill with big increases in water funding. A House appropriations subcommittee last week advanced a draft FY20 spending bill that would boost EPA’s overall funding while delivering significant increases to a number of water and wastewater infrastructure programs.Full story -
Ernst & Young / AWWA P3 Summary
To P3 or not to P3. A water industry view on the relevance of public-private partnership delivery models. Private investors have been cautiously optimistic about the potential for the US municipal water sector to become a source of meaningful public-private partnership (P3) projects for a number of years, but to date, deal flow has yet to materialize, and the market remains largely one of potential. However, progress is being made and an increasing number of projects are in developmentFull story -
How are the Largest U.S. Cities Managing Rising Costs for Water and Sewer Services?
Climate change, declining consumption and increasing operational costs are all a part of the reality today’s water and wastewater utilities are facing. So how are the largest U.S. cities managing these factors and building rate structures for long-term resilience?Full story -
Creating a New Marketplace for Infrastructure Investment
Report from Brookings.edu by Joseph Kane and Adie TomerFull story -
CINDY WALLIS-LAGE: THE PRICE OF WATER
Water’s cost tends to be misunderstood. Right now, the “price” consumers pay for water is much less than that for other “essential” items we feel we must have, such as cellphones and computers. Sure, we use these devices, and when they are misplaced or broken, we feel lost without them. But ultimately, we can function without the conveniences they bring us. The same is not true for our most basic need—water.Full story -
PODCAST: FLEXIBLE FINANCING THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
James Schlaman, Director of Water Resources at Black & Veatch, explains what community-based public-private partnerships (CBP3s) are (and what they aren't), how they work, and what makes them attractive — particularly for stormwater management improvements. Schlaman also shares some examples of communities that have used CBP3s and the results that were garnered.Full story -
EPA Provides $699 Million for San Francisco Wastewater Infrastructure Upgrades
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission receives funds for its innovative Southeast Treatment Plant Biosolids Digester Facilities Project. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a $699 million loan to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to help finance its innovative Southeast Treatment Plant Biosolids Digester Facilities Project. This is the largest loan issued under EPA's Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program to date.Full story -
A New Model for Stormwater: Community-Based P3s
The need for innovative, efficient solutions and models to help communities across the United States meet their stormwater regulatory requirements is growing, and community-based public-private partnerships (CBP3s) may hold the key. Recognizing the challenges of funding large-scale stormwater management infrastructure projects, Region 3 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the CBP3 framework to assist communities in these efforts. Black & Veatch’s 2018 Strategic Directions: Water Report survey found that there is a strong receptivity to better understanding the role the private sector can play in a community-based P3 structure and consideration of such a partnership.Full story -
What Can Data Do For Our World's Most Precious Resource?
Data is proving to be a revolutionary force across many segments of the world's infrastructure, raising the game for energy, construction and telecommunications. It's time we turned the power of data onto our world's most important commodity: water. Water and wastewater systems are increasingly outfitted with data-producing instruments but that information is too often siloed, or buried out of sight like much of the infrastructure itself.Full story -
Rates: The "Existential Reality" Requires Innovative Balancing Act
The "existential reality" of managing declining revenue in the face of increasing investment needs has become the new norm for the water sector nationwide. Utilities consistently face competing pressures - changes in water use behavior and advances in efficiency help sustain precious resources, but impact utility revenues. Addressing aging infrastructure and water quality needs enhances service reliability and public health, but puts significant cost pressures on utilities.Full story -
2018 Strategic Directions Water Industry Report Now Available
The annual Black & Veatch Strategic Directions: Water Report addresses contemporary issues affecting water service providers around the globe. This year’s report demonstrates that water is becoming a high-tech proposition. Data is increasingly driving the conversation, as water utilities and municipalities come to realize the powerful role it can play. Unlike their predecessors, today’s utilities are able to harness the power of analytics, which can deliver actionable information allowing them to optimize systems, cut costs and in effect, do more with less, even as systems age.Full story -
EPA Announces First Water Infrastructure Loan Under WIFIA
King County, Washington, receives a $134.5 million WIFIA loan to help finance water infrastructure upgrades that will better protect public health and water quality. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first-ever loan from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program to King County, Washington, to help finance its Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station.Full story -
The Year in Water 2017
This virtual panel pulls Charles Fishman, journalist and author of "The Big Thirst"; Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Black & Veatch's Water business; and Jeff Kightlinger, General Manager of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, together to discuss a wide range of water issues from 2017 and offer a prognosis on water in 2018.Full story -
PODCAST: B&V TALKS CBP3S – COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS – FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Creating an effective stormwater management program, the key to handling large events such as hurricanes and other major wet weather events, is a large and multifaceted undertaking. The best solution for many could be a community-based public-private partnership.Full story -
BEYOND FINANCING: KEY ATTRIBUTES OF A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Public-private partnerships (P3s) are most commonly known for funding large-scale water infrastructure projects that a utility can’t support through traditional funding. However, other key attributes in the P3 model are often overlooked. In a P3, the private entity may provide the capital, but the true benefits go well beyond financing alone.Full story -
Financing Integrated Green Stormwater Infrastructure to Improve Community Health, Resiliency -- Getting the Best Deal for the Money
In October 2016, Bloomberg BNA released an article on green infrastructure financing that discuss needs and effective financing solutions for building a comprehensive integrated green stormwater infrastructure program that combines the strengths of green and grey solutions to provide multiple community benefits, including mitigation and rehabilitation of critical infrastructure damaged by extreme wet weather events.Full story -
Financing Green Infrastructure - Is a Community-Based P3 Right For You?
Article from EPA related to Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3).Full story -
BLUEFIELD RESEARCH: CRUMBLING PUBLIC WATER INFRASTRUCTURE SIGNALS LARGER ROLE FOR PRIVATE PARTICIPATION
Private participation in U.S. municipal water markets is poised for expansion. Municipalities and local authorities are showing an increasing reliance on investor-owned utilities and private players for the ownership, management, and operations of public water and wastewater systems.Full story -
2016 STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS: U.S. WATER REPORT
The Black & Veatch 2016 Strategic Directions: Water Industry report identifies current trends and the ongoing challenges faced by the water industry as infrastructure demands increase and cost remains a top concern. 2016 finds an industry rising to meet perhaps its biggest challenges yet in managing infrastructure maintenance cost, navigating capital investment with limited resources and engaging customers who may be questioning the cost or the safety of their supply.Full story -
Prince George's County Approach to Meeting Regulatory Stormwater Management Requirements
The Clean Water Partnership (CWP) authored this document as an innovative business model in the field of stormwater management that aims to meet regulatory requirements by leveraging private-sector resources and promoting operational efficiencies and innovation in design, construction, and maintenance. The CWP was designed to create “green jobs” that preserve and restore environmental quality, expand the County’s small businesses, promote educational opportunities for students by collaborating with local stakeholders to achieve the County's goals.Full story -
Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships and Alternative Market-Based Tools for Integrated Green Stormwater Infrastructure
This document presents a model Community Based Public Private Partnership (CBP3) program, with a variety of emerging market-based tools, that will help municipalities meet their stormwater management regulatory and community development municipal stormwater management program needs. The primary audiences for this document are municipal officials; program managers; procurement officials; environmental, legal and financing experts; and decision-makers that are interested in providing their communities with new and innovative ways to implement and finance large-scale stormwater retrofit programs and efforts.Full story -
Public-Private Partnerships Beneficial for Implementing Green Infrastructure
This article from Bloomberg BNA explores new ways to accelerate the rate and reduce the cost of green infrastructure investment.Full story -
AMERICA’S NEGLECTED WATER SYSTEMS FACE A RECKONING
Clean, safe drinking water has been available for so long in the U.S. that no one thinks twice about filling a glass of water at the kitchen sink or flushing a toilet. Indeed, for most people the shock would be if any of these conveniences failed to function. But the very longevity that has bred such faith in America’s water systems now threatens its future. Vast networks of underground pipes, often dating back to the 19th century, are nearing or are already past the end of their useful lives. But unless a water main breaks or a street caves in, it is all too easy to ignore the invisible infrastructure slowly crumbling beneath our feet.Full story -
BLACK & VEATCH: DROUGHT, AGING PIPES, CUSTOMER HABITS TEST WATER INDUSTRY
Black & Veatch today released its fourth annual Strategic Directions: U.S. Water Industry Report offering insights and analysis of the key issues facing water utilities across the United States. For the fourth straight year, aging infrastructure ranks as the top concern for report participants. Managing operational and capital costs in an era of strong fiscal pressures from weather-related challenges and a changing revenue model rounded out the top three issues. More than 450 water industry participants provided their insights for the report.Full story -
Bringing the 'Community' Into P3s Just Makes Sense for Green Infrastructure
An article by Storm and Stream Solutions highlights EPA's Community Based Public-Private Partnerships and Alternative Market-Based Tools for Integrated Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A Guide for Local Governments, as the first publication that provides an in-depth overview of the CBP3 approach.Full story
Leaders in Asset Life Cycle Management