Voters in more than 30 states will see a water question on Tuesday's ballot. Most are local, and a few carry real consequences for rates, ownership and who pays for aging pipes. Here are the ones most worth following, and what each one would and would not do.
Two statewide questions
Arkansas Issue 4 asks voters to let the state borrow up to $500 million in general obligation bonds for water, wastewater, drainage, flood control, irrigation and related projects. Irrigation is capped at $165 million, and the state could not issue more than $60 million in any two-year period without legislative approval. Supporters say it gives utilities access to lower-cost state loans. Opponents worry about the borrowing. The Arkansas Advocate reports the measure would not raise taxes directly, but ratepayers would repay the loans through their utilities. If approved, it takes effect July 1.
Louisiana Amendment 7 would let local governments spend public money to find and replace lead drinking-water service lines on private property, which the state constitution now restricts. The Louisiana Illuminator reports that a $152 million federal loan has already been approved for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board. An attorney general's opinion concluded the city could legally use the money for private-side lead-pipe removal; Amendment 7 would solidify the constitutional exemption statewide. The amendment authorizes spending. It does not create a bond or a tax.
Who owns and runs the water
Bell Gardens, Calif. (Measure W). Voters decide whether the city may sell its municipal water system to Golden State Water Company. The system serves about one-third of the city, and Golden State already serves the rest. The $41 million price is the company's proposed amount. It is not in the ballot question, and no final sale agreement exists, according to reporting. The city's only well has been offline since 2021 because of PFAS contamination. Current city customers would pay the same rates through at least Dec. 31, 2027. Golden State has a pending request for higher rates starting in 2028, which regulators have not approved.
Madison County, Ill. (advisory question). Voters in several townships near Granite City are asked, without binding effect, whether the county should sell Special Service Area No. 1, a sewer district, to a private company. Reports cite a $35 million offer from Illinois American Water. The county board would make any final decision.
Baltimore (Question H). A charter amendment would create a Department of Water and Wastewater and move those duties out of the Department of Public Works. Question G separately adds the stormwater system to public property that cannot be sold or leased as a franchise.
Corpus Christi, Texas (Proposition B). The charter amendment ends a program that lets large industrial users pay a fee to avoid drought surcharges, and requires the surcharges instead. Large users are defined as industrial, large data center or large-scale power customers using 100,000 gallons or more a day. Surcharges would apply to water above a monthly threshold, at minimum rates of $3, $6 and $12 per 1,000 gallons in Stage 2, Stage 3 and a water emergency. KRIS-TV reports refineries now pay an extra 31 cents per 1,000 gallons under the exemption program.
Bear Valley Community Services District, Kern County, Calif. (Measure R). Would repeal water rates the district board adopted in March 2026. The district estimates a revenue loss of about $352,000 this fiscal year and about $10 million over five years. Those figures are the district's own.
The biggest local borrowing and tax questions
- St. Petersburg, Fla.: up to $600 million in general obligation bonds for stormwater, wastewater and drinking water, backed by the city's property-tax power, with maturities up to 30 years. The city ties it to its resilience plan after Hurricane Milton forced two of three wastewater plants to stop operating in 2024.
- United Water Conservation District, Ventura County, Calif. (Measure D): up to $350 million in bonds, with an estimated $24 per $100,000 of assessed value per year. It funds dam safety, Freeman Diversion fish passage and recharge, and brackish treatment.
- Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (Issue 7B): up to $250 million in debt, up to $470 million in total repayment, with taxes up to $18.7 million a year.
- Aspen, Colo. (2A): up to $100 million in debt for the water treatment plant above Castle Creek, built in 1965. Repayment would not exceed $255 million, comes from the water enterprise, and would not raise taxes.
- Vergennes, Vt.: up to $22 million more in wastewater borrowing authority for a project estimated at $54 million. Total principal under both authorizations is capped at $39.5 million, and grants would reduce actual debt.
Water inside bigger packages
San Diego County Measure B is a half-cent sales tax estimated at $400 million to $450 million a year. Most of it goes to health care, child care and nutrition. Under the final ordinance, up to 22.5% goes to Tijuana River environmental mitigation, and at least 20% of total revenue goes to sewage infrastructure. (The 20% is of the whole tax, not of the 22.5% share.)
Rhode Island Question 5 is a $55 million green bond package. It includes $25 million for resilient infrastructure such as flooding and stormwater, and $7 million for Narragansett Bay watershed restoration. It also funds parks and farmland, so it is not a water-utility bond. Sources:
Conservation measures with source-water goals include Delaware County, Pa. (up to $120 million), Manatee County, Fla. ($75 million), Marion County, Fla. ($140 million) and Camden County, N.J. (open-space tax increase from 2 to 3 cents per $100 of assessed value).
Texas districts. There's a lot happening in Texas, including action in at least 79 Texas districts and cities. Many are municipal utility district bond questions, some above $1 billion, such as Denton County MUD 7 ($2.295 billion) and Fort Bend County MUD 287A ($1.96 billion, including refunding authority). Note that authorizations are ceilings that districts use over many years, and they include refunding and unlimited-tax pledges.
Onward
For water utilities, Tuesday's results could determine which infrastructure projects move forward, who owns and operates local systems, and how the costs are divided among taxpayers, ratepayers and large industrial customers.
The distinction between authorization and actual spending will matter after Election Day. Even where voters approve hundreds of millions of dollars in borrowing, utilities will still need to secure financing, finalize project plans and determine how much customers will ultimately pay. The ballot results will settle some immediate questions while setting up years of decisions about how communities maintain and modernize their water infrastructure.
