Legislative Initiatives
Advancing the power of collaborative deliveryOur focus is on sharing industry-leading research to educate policymakers about the value of collaborative delivery in improving project outcomes and delivering greater return on taxpayer investments. Through this work, we have helped expand the use of collaborative delivery and make it the fastest-growing form of project delivery in the water and wastewater sector.
Federal Efforts
From coast to coast, communities are facing a growing water crisis. Aging infrastructure, population growth, and increasing water scarcity present increasing challenges to water systems—requiring greater investment to meet essential water infrastructure needs. To ensure these investments deliver maximum value, we urge federal leaders to support and enact policies that enable the use of collaborative delivery approaches for water infrastructure projects.
As we increase investment in our nation’s infrastructure and work to revitalize our economy, it is critical to advance solutions that create quality jobs and build resilient utilities, systems, and communities. Water systems have been challenged by underinvestment for far too long. Now is the time to reinvest, and embracing collaborative project approaches is a great place to start. Collaborative delivery approaches can accelerate project timelines, reduce total project costs, and efficiently deliver safe, resilient water solutions to communities of all sizes.
Our priorities include:
Permissive Legislation
We believe in expanding the toolbox to give project owners the ability to choose the best delivery method for their project needs. To make that possible, we are encouraging lawmakers to include permissive language in water infrastructure and water resource development legislation to give owners the option to use collaborative delivery methods for certain projects.
Education
Through our advocacy, we champion education for policymakers and their staff on the value of collaborative delivery methods.
Infrastructure Funding
WCDA advocates for water infrastructure funding and financing mechanisms that ensure long-term investment in meeting our nation’s critical water infrastructure needs.
Federal-State Coordination
We believe that collaboration produces better project outcomes. Through our advocacy efforts, we promote coordination among federal and state officials to better understand how collaborative delivery can be used in mix-funded projects.
State Efforts
We are committed to bringing the power of collaborative delivery to communities across the country. To achieve that goal, we partner with elected and government officials at the state as well as federal levels.
California Advocacy
September 2025
California SB 598 – Public Contracts: Local Water Infrastructure Projects – Construction Manager / General Contractor (CM/GC) Project Delivery Method
SB 598 will enable local agencies, upon approval by their governing bodies, to use the construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) project delivery method for a regional recycled water projects or other water infrastructure projects that alleviate water supply shortages attributed to drought or climate change. This proposed legislation broadens the use of CM/GC, making it a permissible water infrastructure project delivery method for an expanded scope of local agencies than is currently allowed. CM/GC is a collaborative project delivery method in which the owner retains an engineering firm and a CM/GC firm under two separate contracts—one for design and one for construction. Availability of CM/GC as a project delivery option for water infrastructure projects can help reduce project duration and costs, as compared to traditional design-bid-build methods.
This legislation provides California utilities with additional options for delivering water infrastructure projects effectively and efficiently. The use of CM/GC for project delivery enables additional flexibility in implementing projects that address water scarcity challenges, and other impacts of climate change, and enhance water system resilience.
SB 598 was introduced by Senator Durazo in February 2025 and is sponsored by the Water Collaborative Delivery Association (WCDA), with support from a variety of other organizations, including the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and several California utilities. It recently passed both the state senate and assembly committees by unanimous vote and was ordered to the consent calendar as of July 2025. The bill is anticipated to be fully approved later in this legislative session.
You can support WCDA’s advocacy efforts in California by:
• Subscribing to our newsletter to learn more about collaborative delivery, WCDA education, and current advocacy efforts.
• Supporting WCDA’s outreach and education efforts to ensure the sector is fully informed about the availability of PDB and CM/GC and best practices for building better projects, together.
2022
SB 991 Passes in California
Local water and wastewater agencies in California will now have the flexibility to use collaborative project delivery methods with Governor Newsom’s September signing of Senate Bill 991, helping ensure important water projects will be delivered more efficiently and cost-effectively during this critical time of extended drought.
Championing the passage of this historic bill has been a top legislative priority for WCDA as our members and the California cities, counties, and water agencies we serve work to address essential infrastructure needs and ensure critical services while overcoming the restrictions of traditional project delivery methods.
Under the newly signed law, local agencies (“any city, county, city and county, or special district authorized by law to provide for the production, storage, supply, treatment, or distribution of any water from any source”) can use progressive design-build for up to 15 public works projects in excess of $5 million each. The law takes effect on January 1, 2023.
“We’re deeply appreciative of our members’ efforts to raise awareness about collaborative project delivery and share real-world examples of the benefits of progressive design-build to projects, ratepayers, and communities. Through this legislation, agencies can move critical water supply projects forward more efficiently so that California residents, businesses, and communities have more reliable water supplies during this drought and beyond,” said WCDA Executive Director Mark E. Alpert.
Prior to CA SB 991’s passage, municipal entities and special districts were extremely limited in their ability to adopt progressive design-build procurement, leaving hundreds of water and wastewater agencies unable to enjoy the benefits of collaborative project delivery and provide even better projects for their customers more efficiently and affordably.
But WCDA’s work is not done. Now we need to continue the education process, making sure California water and wastewater agencies and their leaders are not only aware of this important legislation, but also the delivery methods available to them to increase cost certainty, speed, innovation, and cost savings on complex projects.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD—DOWNLOAD OUR CA SB 991 TOOLKIT TODAY!
Texas Advocacy
Texas is currently the only state with population-based limitations on the use of collaborative delivery for water projects. Under Texas Code 2269, communities with fewer than 100,000 residents currently cannot use design-build (DB) or progressive design-build (PDB) for water infrastructure project delivery. As a result, only 43 of more than 1,500 Texas communities can access this proven delivery method.
Prior to and throughout the 89th Texas legislative session in 2025, WCDA’s Advocacy Committee worked diligently to advance legislation focused on removing population barriers on the use of design-build and allow communities of all sizes to have access to design-build as an option for water infrastructure project delivery. The proposed legislation was one of more than 8,700 bills filed during the legislative session, of which less than 15% were passed into law.
Although the proposed legislation was ultimately not approved, WCDA’s efforts to raise awareness of, build support for, and educate the industry about the benefits of collaborative delivery continue in preparation for the 90th Texas legislative session beginning in 2027.
You can support WCDA’s advocacy efforts in Texas by doing the following:
• Contact your state senator or representative today to ensure that Texas communities can build smarter, together.
• Sponsor a local education session to assist in educating the sector about collaborative project delivery.
• Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about collaborative delivery, WCDA education, and current advocacy efforts.
Questions?
For additional information on the WCDA’s advocacy efforts, please contact us at: Advocacy@WaterCollaborativeDelivery.org