Is Your Town on Colorado's 2026 Water Infrastructure Funding Master List?

What This Bill Actually Does

Let's talk about how water infrastructure actually gets funded in Colorado. The state operates two massive financial engines: the Drinking Water Revolving Fund (DWRF) and the Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund (WPCRF). Managed by the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority, these funds provide critical low-interest loans and grants to help local communities build water treatment plants, replace aging pipes, and upgrade failing sewer systems. But there is a massive administrative catch. By law, the state cannot give a community any of this money unless the legislature formally signs off on an eligibility list every single year. SJR26-001 is exactly that—the legislative permission slip for the 2026 funding cycle.

This resolution does not actually hand out the money; it just says, "These specific projects are officially allowed to ask for it." The bill breaks the lists down into three simple categories for both drinking water and wastewater: additions, modifications, and deletions. For example, new additions to the drinking water list this year include the Town of LaSalle, the Fox Hill Water Association, and the Yampa Valley Housing Authority's Whitehaven Mobile Home Park. On the wastewater side, towns like Aguilar, Green Mountain Falls, and Hillrose are officially being added to the board to seek funding for major items like new treatment plants and biosolid management systems.

The modifications section is where you can see how existing local projects are evolving in real-time. When a town realizes they need to add "green infrastructure" or "source water protection" to an existing project, they have to get the legislature to approve the scope change before they can draw funds for it. We are seeing a lot of towns adding specific upgrades this year—like the City of Evans adding green infrastructure to its drinking water project, or the Town of Dove Creek adding stormwater and biosolid scopes to its wastewater plans. Finally, the deletions section removes communities that either finished their projects, found money elsewhere, or are no longer eligible. This year, the Town of Kiowa is the sole community coming off both lists because their projects are complete or no longer needed.

What It Means for You

If you turn on the tap or flush a toilet in one of the communities listed in this resolution, pay close attention. Water infrastructure is incredibly expensive, and when a town's system reaches the end of its lifespan, local residents usually foot the bill through massive spikes in their monthly water and sewer rates. By getting onto these Project Eligibility Lists, your local government is taking the critical first step toward securing state and federal subsidies. These low-interest loans and grants can drastically soften the blow to your wallet compared to a town trying to finance a multi-million dollar water plant on the open market.

For residents in specific areas, this list signals long-awaited relief for localized issues. For example, if you live in the Whitehaven Mobile Home Park under the Yampa Valley Housing Authority, they are gearing up for consolidation, interconnection, and a brand new treatment plant. If you live in Frisco, the town is explicitly going after funding for water meters. If you are out in Eastern Adams County, your Metropolitan District is securing its spot for major treatment plant, storage, and supply upgrades. This resolution acts as your crystal ball for what your local public works department will be tearing up the streets to fix over the next few years.

Because these projects ultimately impact your property taxes and utility rates, you shouldn't sit on the sidelines while the plans are drawn up and the checks are cut. Here is how you can stay ahead of the curve:

• Check the list: Take five minutes to read through the bill text and see if your town, HOA, or local water district is mentioned.
• Attend the next water board meeting: Ask your local officials about the timeline. Now that they are on the state eligibility list, when do they plan to actually submit their application for the revolving fund money?
• Ask about the local match: State funds almost always require a local funding match. Ask your city council how they plan to raise your portion of the cash—will it be a bond issue, a rate hike, or a special assessment?

What It Means for Your Business

If you are in the commercial construction, heavy civil engineering, or environmental consulting space, SJR26-001 is essentially a state-verified lead-generation sheet. Every single municipality, homeowners association, and water district on this list has recognized a critical infrastructure flaw, formulated a basic plan to fix it, and is now actively seeking the state capital to fund the work. This is public knowledge of upcoming Requests for Proposals (RFPs) before the RFPs even hit the street.

The modifications list is particularly useful because it tells you exactly what specialized services these towns suddenly need. We are seeing a massive push for green infrastructure across the state (Town of LaSalle, Loop Water Authority, Roxborough Water and Sanitation District) and biosolids management (Town of Aguilar, Boulder County, Town of Granada). If your firm specializes in advanced metering, notice that places like Tri-County Water Conservancy District and Wilson Mesa at Telluride just added "meters" to their project scopes. For real estate developers, keeping an eye on where water infrastructure is expanding—like the new treatment plants and interconnectors in the Tree Haus Metropolitan District or Eastern Adams County—can signal where future housing developments will have the utility capacity to be viable.

Do not wait for these towns to get the money in the bank before you introduce your business. By the time the funding is announced, your competitors will already be in the room. Here is what you should do this week to capitalize on this intelligence:

• Map the newly added towns: Assign your business development team to cross-reference the "Additions" lists (like Town of Hartman or Hillrose) with your company's service territory.
• Call the Public Works Directors: Reach out to the municipalities that just modified their lists to include your specific niche (e.g., call the City of Greeley if you do nonpoint source pollution work, or the Town of Frisco if you supply water meters).
• Track the Authority's board meetings: Follow the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority to see when these specific local projects get their funding officially approved, so you can perfectly time your bid preparations.

Follow the Money

Because this is a Joint Resolution and not a standard piece of legislation, it does not appropriate any new money out of the state's General Fund. The direct fiscal impact of passing this resolution is essentially zero. However, the indirect financial impact is massive. Approving this list acts as a gateway, unlocking local access to hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in the Drinking Water and Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds.

These revolving funds are capitalized annually by massive grants from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which the state of Colorado is generally required to match by 20%. The Authority then uses that massive pool of money to issue leveraged, low-interest loans to the communities explicitly named on this list. As those communities pay back the loans over 20 to 30 years, the money "revolves" back into the fund to finance future infrastructure projects. For local governments, gaining access to this fund is often the difference between a project moving forward or dying on the vine, as the interest rates provided by the state are substantially lower than what a town could secure on the open municipal bond market.

Where This Bill Stands

SJR26-001 is currently cruising through the legislative process with zero friction, which is standard for this annual housekeeping resolution. It was introduced in the Senate in mid-January, cleared the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee without any amendments, and unanimously passed the full Senate on February 2, 2026.

The resolution was introduced in the House on February 17, 2026, and assigned to the House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee. Because these project lists are rigorously vetted by the Water Quality Control Commission long before they ever reach the Capitol building, this resolution is essentially a guaranteed lock to pass. Expect it to clear the House quickly and head to the Governor's desk for a final signature well before the spring construction season ramps up.