Leveraging rates, fees, and financial incentives

The existence of a utility rate or fee can provide a lever to motivate private parties’ participation in localized infrastructure solutions. Rebates, subsidies, grants, and other financial incentives also play an important role in motivating private property owners to employ decentralized solutions. Communities’ programs across the country provide helpful examples on the role rates, fees, and financial incentives play, including:

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s 2019 Green Infrastructure Partnership Program, which is currently paid for out of the utility’s operating budget, provides private property owners who plan to install green infrastructure on their property incentive funding for development and installation of constructed wetlands, native landscaping, porous pavement, and several other onsite rain capture strategies

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s debt-financed Turf Replacement program provides rebates to residential and commercial customers who replace turf with sustainable landscapes that include rain capturing feature like a rain garden, rain barrel, cistern, infiltration trench, or vegetated swale

Seattle’s participation the in the debt-financed Saving Water Partnership provides area businesses and multi-family homeowners with rebates that result in significant savings on customers’ water bills

To explore the Toolkit sections on financing options for localized solutions click here.