In 2023, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas (UG) partnered with CIS to launch a community-based partnership (CBP) program to expand green stormwater infrastructure in the area. The program has received $78 million from a Water...
Policy Analysis and Planning
The Clean Water Partnership
In March 2015, Prince George’s County, MD, and CIS entered into a “first of its kind” innovative 33-year community-based partnership (CBP), the Clean Water Partnership (CWP). The partnership is the first and largest CBP addressing stormwater management with a...
City of Chester Community-based Partnership
CIS's innovative project approach aggregates projects and creates economies of scale through holistic program management, planning, design, and project execution.Project ScopeTotal Development Costs$46 millionTotal Local Impact$149 millionIn 2018, CIS launched the...
Exploring Emerging Utility-led Innovations in Water Affordability
Affordability of water and wastewater (“water”) utility bills is a growing concern for many Americans, with water rates rising faster than the cost of most other goods and services. This is adding pressure to households already struggling to pay bills, forcing them to...
Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities (RISC)
Started in 2020, funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund (GLPF) and founded by the CEO of CIS, the Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities (RISC) project was created to establish a resilience and finance leadership Cluster of municipal resilience...
Urban Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Program: Assessing the Relevance of a Community-based Partnership
Under the umbrella of Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities (RISC), CIS, supported by the Delta Institute and the Insurance Information Institute, led the writing of a report that assessed the viability of using a community-based partnership (CBP) in a...
Analyses of Great Lakes Regional Poll Data
Alterations to Great Lakes land cover, changes in hydrologic patterns in the region, and outdated hydrologic systems have exacerbated the water quality impairments in the Great Lakes. As many of the changes occurring across the Great Lakes basin are driven by human...
Detroit Tree Equity Program
American Forests is a leading nonprofit with a mission to create healthy and resilient forests, from cities to wilderness, that “deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife." CIS staff have worked on a team led by American Forests to assist with...
A Business Plan to Establish Nation’s Third, and Great Lakes’ First Community-based Partnership in Greater Milwaukee Region
In January 2019, Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities (RISC) engaged a team that included CIS to assist the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) by developing a business plan to assess the viability and relevance of using a community-based...
Stormwater Community-Based Public-Private Partnership Feasibility Assessment and Guidebook for the State of Washington
Increasingly, state and local agencies across the United States are using community-based partnerships (CBPs) to overcome the challenges of implementing, financing, and maintaining green infrastructure to achieve water quality goals.Project Scope Research and Analyses...
Assisting Municipalities with Implementing Stormwater Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships in Washington State
Community-based partnerships (CBPs) are an innovative form of alternative procurement and delivery in which a government agency and private entity partner seek to improve both water quality and quality of life for a community through green stormwater infrastructure...
Evaluation of Large-scale Use of Green Stormwater Infrastructure as a Stormwater Controls Measure
The Stormwater Authority of the City of Chester (SAC) was founded in January 2016 “to regulate discharges to the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) to protect the City of Chester and Delaware County’s water bodies and groundwater and to safeguard the public...