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As County leaders, we must protect our region. Our quality of life is directly connected to our commitment to build a tomorrow that preserves the best of today. This vision includes protecting our natural resources, utilizing our county’s resources in a fiscally-smart manner, and wisely planning for our future. Thank you for standing with us.
Tax Revenue Primes DougCo to Invest in Water Security
The COVID-fueled migration trend of Americans leaving less-desirable urban settings and upgrading their lifestyles in communities throughout the Western U.S. has been well documented.
A new Colorado analysis by the Economic Innovation Group, and shared with Axios, shows how tax revenue flowed with migration – creating opportunities for destination counties like Douglas County - to address major challenges including water security.
As one of the fastest growing counties in America, Douglas County has seen a steadily rising population in recent years.
As a result of the continued influx during the 2020-21 COVID period, the county saw a $471 million jump in revenue, according to the EIG analysis.
The desirability of Douglas County is no surprise given our world-class quality of life and commonsense conservative governance. Preserving that quality-of-life hinges on not only listening to but acting on the annual citizen survey that places water security as a top priority.
Having a COVID-sparked revenue boost is good news for Douglas County and other counties that are overdue in accessing new water resources to ease the over reliance on non-renewable water, like that from the Denver Aquifer.
This fiscal analysis comes at the perfect time as the County stands up its necessary and needed Water Commission that will initially develop a first-of-its-kind countywide water inventory; including in rural areas of the county not served by existing water providers.
One of the most important tools that will emerge from the Commission is a look at current water assets and identifying challenges the County is facing in the years ahead.
Recent Headlines
Pandemic in-migration made Colorado richer, but Denver lost money
Colorado's mountain counties became richer during the pandemic, as Denver took a hit.
…Why it matters: Income taxes are a major source of revenue for the state and some localities. But even places that don't have a local income tax depend on residents' incomes to support the local housing market, retail sales and the tax base.
By the numbers: In dollars, the largest gains came in existing rich counties. Douglas saw taxable income increase by $471 million, and Boulder County jumped by $287 million.
Colorado River Basin has lost 10 trillion gallons due to warming temps, enough water to fill Lake Mead, study shows
Rising temperatures have sucked more than 10 trillion gallons of water out of the Colorado River Basin between 2000 and 2021 – a volume about the size of Lake Mead – according to a recent study.
Colorado River Basin ranks among the world’s most water-stressed regions, analysis finds
A research effort tracking water scarcity around the world shows California, Arizona and other Western states are experiencing water stress at high levels similar to arid countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The analysis by researchers with the World Resources Institute found that all seven states that rely on the Colorado River face high or extremely high water stress. Arizona ranked first for the most severe water stress in the country, followed by New Mexico and Colorado, while California ranked fifth.
Colorado’s top water agency recently announced a new director to oversee the state's critical water challenges including water supply, naming Lauren Ris to the post.
Upcoming News from DCFF
Every other week, DCFF will report on important news and challenges impacting our community. We hope you will stay engaged and connected with us.
