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Water Rights Resources

Water law is complex, nuanced, and can be difficult to understand. We delve into common water law concepts and provide tutorials that describe how it use publicly available tools to learn more about water rights. To this end, below are a series of articles that are designed to help parties develop a general understanding of some of the basic principles of water law. The information provided below is for educational purposes only and if you have specific questions about your water rights, please contact the attorneys at Nazarenus Stack & Wombacher for legal advice. Use of this information is explicitly subject the website disclaimer available at this link https://www.nswlaw.com/disclaimer

Current Events: Senate Bill 25-1211 (Concerning Tap Fees Charged by Title 32 Special Districts)

Current Events: Senate Bill 25-1211 (Concerning Tap Fees Charged by Title 32 Special Districts)

On May 9, 2025, Governor Polis signed Senate Bill 25-1211 (“SB25-1211” or the “Bill”) into law. This Bill clarified the rules governing the provision of water service by Title 32 Special Districts and the assessment of tap fees to new service connections. The proponents of the Bill sought to tie the cost of a tap fee to the water demands of the property to be served.

SB25-1211 addresses two main issues. First, it mandates that special districts provide water service to properties within their boundaries or service area, so long as the district has capacity to serve such properties and that such service does not create a detriment or harm to existing customers. The Bill defines “capacity” to include the physical capacity of existing infrastructure, the legal capacity to service new properties (including the capacity under the district’s existing water rights portfolio), as well as the district’s financial capacity.

Second, the Bill clarifies existing law concerning the setting of “tap fees,” which are the one-time fees assessed to new service connections for the cost of connecting to and utilizing a district’s infrastructure. It is important to note that tap fees are different from the water rates and fees that customers pay on a monthly basis based on their water use. SB25-1211 confirms that a tap fee must be reasonably related to all costs incurred by the district to provide service to a property. The Bill also requires that when setting a “proportional or reduced tap fee,” the tap fee must consider applicable land use and plumbing codes, existing contracts, and a series of other factors related to water demands. In the event that a district issues a reduced tap fee based on these factors and the water demands for the property increase in the future, the Bill permits a district to require a supplemental tap fee to cover the increased water demands that were not considered in setting the initial tap fee.

SB25-1211 received quite a bit of attention during the legislative session. The attorneys at NSW Law, in coordination with other stakeholders, were able to secure several important amendments to the Bill to ensure that: (1) a water district’s tap fees can be used to recover all of the costs associated with their water development activities including the cost to acquire water rights and water court costs, (2) the term “capacity” was sufficiently defined to include consideration of the terms of water court decrees, (3) the plumbing codes and existing contracts are factored into the development of a tap fee, and (4) a water district can require a supplemental tap fee in the event that water demands increase following the issuance of a reduced tap fee.

In our view, SB 25-1211 is unlikely to result in any major changes to the way that Title 32 Special District’s calculate tap fees; however, it does add some transparency to the process and adds some elements of current case law to Colorado statutes.
If you have questions about how this Bill may impact you or your clients, please reach out to the attorneys at NSW Law.

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