Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District
7C
Groundwater Subdistrict Levy Tied to Inflation
Property tax increaseGroundwater subdistrict levy adjusted for inflation
Raises Groundwater Management Subdistrict property taxes by $1.5 million in 2027, with annual inflation adjustments afterward, for water supply and facilities.
Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District ballot issue 7C
Issue 7C raises the subdistrict's property taxes by $1.5 million in 2027, and this one vote approves every inflation increase after that, with no end date. I oppose a levy that rises with inflation every year on one approval.
The question writes the levy as a dollar amount, and the mill rate is set each year to reach it. When the subdistrict's property values fall, or grow more slowly than inflation, the rate on every property in the subdistrict rises to collect the authorized amount. The ballot tells owners what the subdistrict will collect, not what rate they will pay.
The question also sets aside the state's 5.5% cap on property tax revenue growth for this levy. Voters in the subdistrict can keep that cap in force and ask the board for a levy with a fixed rate and an end date.
I recommend a no vote on Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District ballot issue 7C.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL THE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT SUBDISTRICT OF THE CENTRAL COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED $1.5 MILLION IN 2027 AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER INCREASED BY THE RATE OF INFLATION, AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION, FOR CAPITAL AND OPERATIONAL PURPOSES TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, · PROVIDE STABLE WATER SUPPLY TO SUPPORT AND ASSIST FAMILY FARMS, RANCHES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES INCLUDING ACQUISITIONS OF WATER RIGHTS; · IMPROVE THE SUBDISTRICT'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE, SAFE WATER AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE; · OPERATE AND MAINTAIN RESERVOIRS, WATER STORAGE SITES AND WATER DELIVERY FACILITIES IN ADAMS, MORGAN AND WELD COUNTIES; AND · INCREASE WATER YIELD BY MAINTAINING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CAN EFFECTIVELY CAPTURE WATER FOR STORAGE; THROUGH A PROPERTY TAX MILL LEVY ANNUALLY IMPOSED AT A RATE SUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE THE AMOUNTS SET FORTH ABOVE, WHICH TAXES SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE GENERAL FUND OF THE SUBDISTRICT, AND SHALL CONSTITUTE A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE AND AN EXCEPTION TO THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN SECTION 29-1-301 OF THE COLORADO REVISED STATUTES?
A yes vote means
Authorizes the subdistrict’s property-tax increase, its annual inflation adjustment and the stated revenue-limit exception.
A no vote means
Rejects this additional subdistrict levy and its inflation adjustment.
A Dollar Target That Grows Each Year01
In the Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, Issue 7C raises property taxes by $1.5 million in 2027. The authorized amount then grows each year by inflation as Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution defines it, and this vote approves each of those increases in advance. The TABOR notice estimates 2027 fiscal year spending without the increase at $10,850,873.
The question fixes a dollar amount, not a tax rate. The subdistrict imposes a mill levy each year "at a rate sufficient to produce" that amount, so the rate is whatever the subdistrict's property values require to raise it. The question sets no end date.
Estimated annual property tax increase
The question's $1.5 million in its first year of collection, set against Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District's certified assessed value for tax year 2025 ($4,854,436,310), works out to about 0.309 mills: $0.31 a year for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.
Example at $100,000 taxable assessed value
$100,000 × about 0.309 ÷ 1,000 = $30.90
Taxable assessed value is not a home's market value. For 2026 it is about 6% to 7% of the actual value the county assessor sets. A home with an actual value of $500,000 has an assessed value of about $30,600 for local government taxes and $35,250 for school district taxes.
An estimate: the mill figure uses the district's certified assessed value for tax year 2025, and the value when the tax is collected will differ. The question states a dollar amount ($1.5 million in its first year of collection), not a mill rate; later years follow the question's own formula. This is the added tax, not the total property tax bill.
Estimated annual increase
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Weld County ballot, Groundwater Management Subdistrict of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District ballot issue 7C; also on the Adams County ballot
Water Rights, Reservoirs and Delivery02
The taxes go into the subdistrict's general fund for capital and operating purposes. The question lists, "among other things," a stable water supply for family farms, ranches and local communities, including acquisitions of water rights; a better ability to provide adequate, safe water efficiently; operating and maintaining reservoirs, storage sites and delivery facilities in Adams, Morgan and Weld counties; and maintaining infrastructure that can capture water for storage.
Comments Filed for the Levy03
In the summary of comments for 7C in Adams County's TABOR notice, supporters say the subdistrict acquires water rights and builds, operates and maintains reservoirs, groundwater recharge projects and delivery facilities that serve farms and ranches along the South Platte River corridor. They say the subdistrict's water users pay about $2.3 million for their allocations in 2026 and that the levy keeps the system delivering that water. They put the cost at about $11 a year for a $500,000 home and say oil and gas account for about 70% of the district's property tax revenue. Nobody filed comments against the measure by the constitutional deadline.
The Property Tax Growth Limit04
A yes vote makes the added taxes a voter-approved revenue change and exempts the levy and its inflation increases from section 29-1-301 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, a state law that limits property tax revenue growth to 5.5%.
The Parent District's Bond Question05
Issue 7B, on the same Adams and Weld ballots, asks the parent district to borrow up to $250 million, with a maximum repayment cost of $470 million, to buy water rights and build storage, and to repay the debt with district taxes of up to $18.7 million a year. Issue 7C funds the subdistrict's capital and operating purposes, authorizes no debt, and goes to voters separately from 7B.
Campaign support and opposition06
For
Yes for WaterContributions $30,550 · Expenditures $10,828
YES FOR WATERColorado Secretary of State · Aug 31, 2026
Colorado Secretary of State committee registration stating the group advocates for approval of the 2026 bond and groundwater management subdistrict operating levy ballot questions.
The 2026 election is over. Requests for personalized guides closed on November 3, 2026. The full guide remains available to read.
