University of Wisconsin–Madison
Progressive Local Government
For the 21st Century

ProGov21 Policy Library

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Year
Taking Action: A Guide for Cities + Towns
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2014
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Center for Neighborhood Technology
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
Communities can improve their climate resilience by improving water management among homes, schools, and businesses. This factsheet shares ten small-scale actions that local policymakers can take to improve water management, including outreach strategies, grant programs, dedicated...
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Paying for Water Systems
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement
Water systems across the nation need major infrastructure updates, but financing these projects by raising rates for residential users shifts costs onto those least able to bear them. This policy memo provides strategies for local officials to fund water infrastructure equitably....
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Actionable Solutions for Public Water Systems
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Finance & Procurement, Data & Technology
Cities face a host of challenges in maintaining their water systems and supplying their communities with clean drinking water, and protecting environmental and human health through effective wastewater and stormwater management. This report is is a comprehensive guide outlining best...
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The City Upstream and Down: How Integrated Water Management Can Help Cities Thrive
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source American Rivers
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
Current strategies of managing water are outdated and ineffective at addressing aging water systems and climate change. In response, this report urges cities to adopt integrated water management, an approach to managing water that encourages coordination between all water systems...
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2009 New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Energy and Water Usage
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2009
Level City or Town
State(s) New York
Source New York City Council
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy
This local law establishes the New York City building energy benchmarking program. Each city-owned building and covered building shall be benchmarked annually. Such information shall be made available to the public, including summary statistics on the energy utilization index, water...
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Clean Water, Good Jobs: BlueGreen Alliance Joint Policy on Water Issues
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, County, National
State(s) All States
Source BlueGreen Alliance
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Public Safety
Crucial updates to water system infrastructure are needed in many cities across the country. This policy brief outlines how updating aging facilities, installing green infrastructure, and manufacturing new equipment creates green jobs, and promotes local economic development. It recommends...
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2012 Alachua County Ordinance 8 Promoting Water Conservation
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2012
Level County
State(s) Florida
Source Alachua County Board of County Commissioners
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
This ordinance creates year-round conservation measures and regulations for the use of water resources during shortage seasons. This ordinance grants county authorities the right to declare a water shortage emergency, during which separate regulations governing water usage go into...
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Staying Green: Strategies to Improve Operations and Maintenance of Green Infrastructure in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source American Rivers
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
Polluted stormwater runoff is one of the largest growing sources of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. To mitigate this problem, green infrastructure practices can be used to manage urban runoff by capturing and infiltrating rainwater where it falls. One of the major challenges to the...
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How to Promote Smarter Water Use by Giving Consumers Access to Their Consumption Data
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level City or Town, National
State(s) All States
Source Center for Data Innovation
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Data & Technology
Most consumers do not know how much water they use on a daily basis or how their water consumption compares to that of others because they receive little information on their utility bills. As a result, consumers receive minimal feedback on how changes in their behaviors, household...
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Transition roadmaps for sustainable and resilient cities
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year -
Level -
State(s) All States
Source Sustainable Justice EU
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources
This database contains a compilation of guides to green energy transitions and climate mitigation and adaptation policies from cities around the world making transitions to green energy and implementing climate mitigative and adaptive policies. Policies included come from Rotterdam,...
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Paying For Water Systems
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement
Many public water utilities struggle to pay for repairs and upgrades necessary to improve energy efficiency, reduce leaks, and prevent infiltration. This brief outlines existing mechanisms to raise these funds as well as promising new methods for public officials to consider. Some...
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Water Wars in Pennsylvania: How Corporations Play the Long Game
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2024
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) Pennsylvania
Source -
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
Private water companies often over exploit publicly-owned water resources, driving up prices and threatening sustainability. Policymakers and advocates must push back against private water companies to keep their water safe and affordable. This report exposes private companies political...
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2011 Wales Ordinance 3 Prohibiting the Extraction of Natural Gas and Oil
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2011
Level City or Town
State(s) New York
Source Town of Wales
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Public Safety
This local law bans individuals and corporations from engaging in the extraction of natural gas or oil through the processes of hydraulic fracturing or horizontal gas well drilling within the Town of Wales. Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal gas well drilling endangers the health,...
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2020 Madison Ordinance 60943 Suspension of Stormwater Utility Late Charges
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) Wisconsin
Source The Common Council of the City of Madison
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement
To help mitigate the financial impacts of the COVID-19 virus on businesses and residents of Madison, this resolution authorizes the Common Council to suspend stormwater utility late charges....
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Water Conservation Pricing
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year -
Level City or Town, County
State(s) Texas
Source Texas Water Development Board
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Finance & Procurement
Water Conservation Pricing is the use of rate structures that discourage the inefficient use or waste of water. This guide provides implementation strategies for conservation pricing, an implementation timeline, and a guide for quantifying water savings. ...
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2021 New York City Local Law Int. No. 2478 Office of Climate Resiliency
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2021
Level City or Town
State(s) New York
Source New York City Council
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
This local law would establish an Office of Climate Resiliency, headed by a Director of Climate Resiliency. The Director would be responsible for developing policies and programs relating to climate resiliency measures in the City, educating the public about such climate resiliency...
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The Invisible Crisis: Water Unaffordability in the United States
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources
In many communities across the U.S., water is neither safe nor affordable. This report provides best practices for improving water utility safety and affordability, including programs that keep water costs below 2.5% of household income, banning water shutoffs for nonpayment, prioritizing...
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Navigating Legal Pathways to Rate-Funded Customer Assistance Programs
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2017
Level City or Town, State
State(s) All States
Source University of North Carolina Environmental Finance Center
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement
Low-income families are significantly burdened by rising water utility rates. This guide explains how water and wastewater utilities can establish payment assistance programs even when facing state-level regulatory restrictions. It also features utility-level case studies that exemplify...
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2020 Baltimore Resolution 20-27 Prohibiting the Privatization of Baltimore's Underground Conduit System
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) Maryland
Source Baltimore City Council
Policy Areas Public Safety
This resolution prohibits the City from selling, transferring, or franchising access to the City's water supply system, sewer system, and underground conduit system for cables wires and other facilities. Under this resolution, the city retains its authority to grant franchises or...
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2012 Pittsburgh Ordinance 2010-0909 Regulating Natural Gas Extraction
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2012
Level City or Town
State(s) Pennsylvania
Source City of Pittsburgh
Policy Areas Public Safety, Environment & Natural Resources, Health
This ordinance bans the commercial extraction of natural gas within the city and establishes a bill of rights which includes the rights of natural ecosystems, the right of self government for city residents, and the right to sustainably access natural water sources. It also removes...
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Richmond Climate Action Plan
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town
State(s) California
Source City of Richmond
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
The City of Richmond's comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes a variety of initiatives such as the Richmond Build program, which provides green job training and employment opportunities for local youth, and partnerships to install solar panels in lower-income neighborhoods....
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2018 New York City Local Law Int. 0417-2018 Water Leak Reporting
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2018
Level City or Town
State(s) New York
Source New York City Council
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
In order to incentivize water leak reporting, this local law grants the Commissioner of Environmental Protection discretionary authority to offer rewards to the public for reporting water leaks in taps or service pipes....
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Gonzales Climate Action Plan 2018 Update
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town
State(s) California
Source City of Gonzales
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources
The City of Gonzales, California, developed its Climate Action Plan (CAP) to address climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote sustainability. It identifies emission reduction targets and strategies across various sectors, including energy use, transportation, land...
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Integrating Valuation Methods to Recognize Green Infrastructure's Multiple Benefits
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2010
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source Center for Neighborhood Technology
Policy Areas Energy, Environment & Natural Resources
This report outlines the environmental and economic benefits associated with different types of green infrastructure, including urban forests, permeable pavement, water harvesting technology, green roofs, and infiltration practices like rain gardens, bioswales, and constructed wetlands....
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Water Wars in Pennsylvania: How Corporations Play the Long Game
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2024
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States, Pennsylvania
Source In the Public Interest
Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Health
Private water companies often over exploit publicly owned water resources, driving up prices and threatening sustainability. Policymakers and advocates must push back against private water companies to keep their water safe and affordable. This report exposes private companies' political...
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