The San Diego Region municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit regulates stormwater runoff from urbanized areas and requires watersheds to design and implement a Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP). As part of this effort, South Orange County implemented its WQIP, to identify high priority water quality conditions and set goals, strategies, and schedules to address them. To meet the WQIP milestones, municipal executive and elected officials needed to invest in projects and programs that maximize the benefits achieved.
Environmental Incentives supported the County in defining clear performance measures to achieve impact. The measures allowed local municipalities to track progress, streamline reporting, and maximize the reach of existing funds—without adding regulatory burdens.
Rather than relying solely on long-term monitoring, which can take years to establish trends and actionable data, performance measures create a meaningful link between structural and non-structural control strategies and water quality goals, while estimating benefits consistently across different strategies. This data-driven approach helped demonstrate progress to regulators, funders, and the public and equipped WQIP managers with measures to evaluate individual project cost-effectiveness.
Through the use of performance measures, Orange County accelerated progress on key water quality initiatives, laying the groundwork for continued investment and opening the door for the County to leverage performance contracts, public-private partnerships, and other innovative procurement strategies to achieve water quality goals.
