Unique Commercial Partnerships for Water Quality Solutions

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

In 2013, Howard County, Maryland instituted a Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee and associated reimbursement and fee credit programs for both commercial and residential properties. While the residential program became immediately popular, the commercial program was vastly underutilized. The County struggled to gain interest from commercial entities due to a lack of incentives and the up-front financial commitments. Recognizing the limitations of the existing Commercial Stormwater Solutions Partnership program, Howard County expanded opportunities so that commercial properties would find value in partnering to implement water quality improvements. Adjusting our incentive model to provide alternative financial solutions increased partnership participation. Upon establishing a willing business association as a partner, Howard County had to creatively adjust our model further to determine fair allocations of credits to each landowner within the association.