Source: Waterloop
Team CIS’s work with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) was recently highlighted by Waterloop’s Travis Loop.
In 2020, the Fresh Coast Protection Partnership (FCPP) was launched between MMSD and CIS to scale up green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) implementation to meet the district’s 2035 goal of capturing the first half inch of rain, or 740 million gallons of water each time it rains. Through this capture of rainfall, GSI reduces flooding, eliminates pollutants that are discharged into the rivers and streams in the Milwaukee watershed, and helps MMSD with an integrated watershed management approach.
The first phase of FCPP is a $29 million investment that provides environmental, social, and economic benefits. The proven structure transfers all delivery and implementation risk away from MMSD. To achieve risk transfer, CIS provides working capital to source, design, permit, and construct GSI projects. Once a GSI project is fully implemented and certified, MMSD pays a fixed, agreed-upon price set at contract execution. CIS is responsible for any cost overruns and MMSD has no obligation for projects that are designed but never built.
In this episode, Bre Plier, AICP from MMSD and Kurt Farrell from CIS delve into the intricacies of scaling these efforts, benefits of collaboration, and impactful results seen so far, such as capturing millions of gallons of stormwater and revitalizing urban spaces.