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Stormwater Community-Based Public-Private Partnership Program
Short video to explain the fundamentals
We developed a new grant to help communities develop and implement stormwater Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3), performance-based contracts, and other forms of alternative procurement. With our funding and following the process described in the CBP3 Guidebook for Municipal Stormwater Managers communities will be able to help reduce stormwater pollution and gain benefits such as creating green community space.
What are Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3)?
Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3s) are a way for local governments and private partners to work together to improve stormwater systems and provide community benefits, such as creating green public spaces, workforce development opportunities, and supporting local small businesses.
In a CBP3, a local government partners with a private organization to plan, build, operate, or maintain stormwater projects, often using green infrastructure like bioretention facilities, rain gardens, trees, or permeable pavement.
What makes CBP3s different?
In a traditional stormwater contract, a contractor is usually paid for completing tasks like designing or installing infrastructure. In performance-based project or CBP3, payment is based on verified project results like gallons of stormwater treated.
CBP3 or performance-based projects use alternative procurement, a flexible way to plan, design, build, operate, and maintain projects. Alternative procurement allows local governments to work with private partners in ways that traditional contracts do not, especially when projects involve private land, complex technical requirements, or long-term maintenance.
CBP3s and performance-based projects use performance-based contracts, which tie payment to results instead of just activities. These contracts include:
Performance measures – What success looks like and how it’s measured
Verification processes – How results are checked and confirmed
Payment terms based on project outcomes – How and when payments are made based on results
This approach encourages innovation, long-term maintenance, and higher-quality outcomes.
Bundling and Integrated Delivery
Another key difference in CBP3s is the ability to bundle multiple project phases—and often multiple sites—into a single, integrated contract.
Traditional delivery separates planning, design, construction, and operations into different contracts. In contrast, alternative procurement models such as Design-Build (DB), Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM), and Design-Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (DBOOM) allow local governments to combine phases of work under one contract.
By bundling services, communities can:
Streamline procurement and reduce administrative burden
Align design decisions with long-term operations and maintenance needs
Shift appropriate risks to the party best able to manage them
Accelerate project delivery
By combining design, construction, and operations under one accountable partner—and tying payment to measurable outcomes—CBP3s better align incentives with long-term water quality results.
What kinds of stormwater projects use CBP3s?
Stormwater CBP3 projects can take many forms, including:
Installing green infrastructure on private property
Designing and building projects on public land
Delivering and maintaining a multi-year stormwater program under a single contract
These projects can also help communities meet Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit requirements.
About the program
In 2023, we launched a CBP3 Learning Network to help shape this funding program.
The Learning Network brings together:
Local government stormwater program managers
Community partners
Technical experts
Together, they learn from one another, share best practices, and help accelerate stormwater project delivery across Washington.
CBP3 Learning Network Objectives:
Explore public-private contracting models, funding, and finance for local government.
Identify projects that are ready to apply for funding.
Increase knowledge about CBP3 and performance contracts for stormwater program managers.
Identify common stormwater infrastructure goals and barriers faced by local governments.
This effort is part of a broader technical assistance initiative to support local governments in developing and delivering effective stormwater projects.
Many communities—especially smaller or underserved ones—don’t have the staff, technical expertise, or resources needed to develop performance-based stormwater projects on their own.
Our goal is to make CBP3s more accessible by:
Providing technical assistance and guidance
Helping communities move from ideas to implementation
Providing funding assistance to support project delivery
From August to December 2024, we solicited and reviewed the first round of CBP3 project applications through the Water Quality Combined Funding Program.
We received:
Six applications from cities and counties
$2.27 million awardedfor planning stormwater CBP3 and performance-based projects
With the assistance of our contractor Environmental Incentives and consulting partners, we are:
Developing outreach materials
Identifying interested local governments and evaluate their readiness for stormwater CBP3 and Performance-Based Contracting
Assisting pilot project planning
Working with local governments to select partnership and contract structures
Providing grant application assistance
Funded projects
Goal: Conduct planning, outreach, and explore the feasibility of a CBP3 for stormwater management in the Central Kingsgate area, a 50-acre commercial area, within residential neighborhood. The City will identify the stormwater and community benefits, facility types, performance measures, and maintenance requirements for the project area.
Why alternative procurement? The project area is entirely privately owned, presenting challenges for stormwater retrofits through traditional procurement. A CBP3 could facilitate access to privately owned land, provide the necessary tools to advance stormwater management in this area, and promote community benefits.
Goal: Assess regional needs and the economic feasibility of using public-private partnerships to locate, design, build, operate, and maintain regional decant facilities in Western Washington.
Why alternative procurement? Public-private partnerships can lower costs, share risk, and shift liability for managing street-sweeping waste. They can also help achieve better stormwater outcomes, such as more capacity for decant waste, while supporting local businesses and workforce training.
Goal: Identify CBP3 opportunities and define the scope for siting, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining a regional stormwater facility on public and/or private land, including the development of a fee-in-lieu program.
Why alternative procurement? Performance-based contracting can offer advantages over traditional procurement by encouraging innovative solutions to challenges such as limited land availability, construction costs, and long-term maintenance. These partnerships are structured around clear outcomes and performance goals.
Goal: Address routine maintenace needs and improve the performance of existing bioretention facilities by developing a CBP3 Maintenance Program. The program aims to use public-private partnerships to ensure bioretention facilities effectively treat stormwater, provide flow control to reduce stream erosion, and meet or exceed NPDES Phase I permit requirements.
Why alternative procurement? Limited resources and a lack of specialized in-house expertise have made it challenging to maintain bioretention facilities at optimal performance. The County will evaluate the feasibility of a performance-based CBP3 maintenance program and explore opportunities to advance equitable social and economic outcomes, including increased participation by small, minority-, and women-owned business enterprises.
Goal: Develop a county-wide CBP3 model that NPDES permittees and other agencies can use to support compliance with Stormwater Management of Existing Development (SMED) requirements and to achieve stormwater and community performance outcomes.
Why alternative procurement? A CBP3 model can reduce costs, speed up stormwater project delivery, and lower risks for all parties. This project will create a framework and tools for an integrated approach that streamlines design, construction, operation, and maintenance under a single partnership structure.
Goal: Conduct preliminary engineering, community outreach, and planning for a Community-Based Public-Private Partnership (CBP3) to address stormwater issues affecting and interacting with a commercial and light industrial business park, support permit compliance, and improve drainage affecting private property, public rights-of-way, and fish passage.
Why alternative procurement? The dense concentration of private properties and complex stormwater infrastructure in the project area creates challenges for traditional contracting. A CBP3 model can help overcome these challenges by using performance-based contracting, which focuses on results instead of specific methods. This approach can also create benefits beyond stormwater management and permit compliance, including habitat enhancement, open space improvements, and education opportunities.
