Two Water Districts Are Asking Southern Denton County to Approve $2.8 Billion in Bonds on November 3

If your property sits inside Cole Ranch Improvement District No. 2 or Northlake Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 of Denton County, bond propositions on your November 3 ballot will directly affect your property tax bill for decades. Combined, the two districts are asking voters to authorize just under $2.85 billion in new borrowing.

Here's the breakdown, straight from the Denton County active contest list:

Cole Ranch Improvement District No. 2 has one bond proposition: $1,379,490,000 in bonds for water, sanitary sewer, and drainage and storm sewer systems, including the option to refund existing bonds of the same type. The ballot labels it a tax increase.

Northlake Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 of Denton County has two. Proposition A covers $542,775,000 for water, sanitary sewer, and drainage and storm sewer systems, including refunding bonds. Proposition B is $921,900,000 for roads and for refunding existing road bonds. That's roughly $1.46 billion across those two propositions. Each is individually labeled a tax increase on the ballot.

These are two separate elections. You can only vote in the district whose boundaries include your address.

Figuring out which district covers your property is the first thing to do. Call Denton County Elections or look up your address at votedenton.gov.

Water districts borrow money to build infrastructure and repay that debt through property taxes levied on everyone inside the district, typically over 20 to 30 years. The bigger the bond authorization, the higher the potential tax rate needed to service it. The exact impact per $100,000 of home value depends on how much debt the district has already issued, what interest rate the bonds carry, and how repayment is structured — none of which the ballot notice alone spells out. Before you vote, ask each district directly for a projected tax rate impact. Both districts file public notices with Denton County; the county clerk's public notice portal at apps.dentoncounty.gov is a reasonable place to start.

A yes vote authorizes the district to issue the debt. A no vote means it cannot. Growth in southern Denton County is driving these requests — districts need infrastructure capacity ahead of or alongside new development, and bonds are how that gets financed.

Voter logistics for Denton County residents:

The voter registration deadline was Monday, October 5, 2026. That date has passed. If you were already registered by then, you're set.

Early voting by personal appearance runs Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30. Election Day is November 3, 2026, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Check votedenton.gov for early voting locations, your sample ballot, and to confirm your registration is active.