Partners in Water Program

Partners in Water is a WTD program that brings together local CBOs and internal WTD project teams to center community priorities and perspectives in decision-making, strengthen partnerships, and improve environmental and social outcomes for all.

Partners in Water was codesigned by community representatives and WTD staff and allows us to move beyond traditional partnership models and improve the way WTD engages with the communities it serves. We do this through ongoing collaboration and co-creation that will lead to more equitable and inclusive water infrastructure services.

Who we partner with

Partners in Water works with CBOs rooted in the diverse communities across King County. Our partners are committed to environmental and social equity, and they help ensure that public programs and infrastructure serve communities in ways that are culturally responsive, accessible, and inclusive.

Rooted in King County’s Equity Race and Social Justice values, our PiW Grant Program provides fair compensation to CBOs who are selected to participate in each yearlong project.

Current Partners in Water projects

Career pathways in wastewater

In 2025, we partnered with Kandelia and Villa Comunitaria to co-design a new Career Pathways Project. This initiative is focused on how WTD can update current recruiting processes to increase equitable access and can connect young people and others from underrepresented communities to careers in wastewater and environmental fields.

Project goals:

• Build and strengthen partnerships between WTD Human Resources and CBOs.
• Improve WTD Human Resources strategies and communications to reduce barriers to employment at WTD.
• Expand equitable access to education and career opportunities for youth and community.

2025 highlights/impacts include:

• Reshaping WTD job postings to be clearer, inclusive, and easier to navigate through workshops with community partners and a focus group with multilingual learners.
• Increasing access to education and resources about careers in clean water for youth and adults from immigrant and refugee communities.  

Continuing this work in 2026:

• We are expanding the project group for additional CBO partners to join us.
  • Please read the full project and grant announcement here.
  • Applications are currently open through February 20, 2026.

Read our blogpost to learn more about how the Career Pathways Project was formed.

Community partnerships in infrastructure

We are collaborating with Living Well Kent, Mother Africa, and Villa Comunitaria to rethink how WTD involves communities in planning for capital projects and co-create a toolkit that will help WTD more effectively engage and involve communities in future infrastructure planning and construction.

Together, we are

• documenting best practices for building trust and sharing power with CBOs in community engagement efforts,
• identifying strategies to involve communities early and more effectively in capital projects, and
• developing tools and recommendations for future WTD work.

Stay connected

We believe long-term community partnerships are essential to making our work stronger, more just, and more effective. If you’re a CBO interested in working with us through a future PiW project or have questions, we’d love to connect!

Contact: Eli Weiss, Partners in Water Program Manager, at eli.weiss@kingcounty.gov.