Who owns the water on the Texas land you are buying?

Texas runs two separate water systems: surface water in a watercourse belongs to the state, and groundwater belongs to the landowner. Diverting state water for irrigation or a commercial use takes a water right from the TCEQ. Water Code §11.142 lets you build a dam or reservoir of not more than 200 acre-feet of normal storage for domestic and livestock use without a permit — but that exemption does not apply to a commercial operation.

Why does Texas treat surface water and groundwater so differently?

They came from two bodies of law and were never merged. Surface water was claimed for the state under a permit system borrowed from the arid West. Groundwater was left to the rule of capture, then handed to local districts. So you can stand on a tract with a creek through it and a well in the yard, and own one of those and not the other.

When do you need a TCEQ water right, and what does §11.142 actually let you do?

You need one any time you take water out of a watercourse beyond the narrow domestic and livestock uses the Water Code carves out. Section 11.121 is blunt: no person may appropriate state water, or begin construction of any work designed for the storage, taking, or diversion of water, without first obtaining a permit from the commission. Pumping from the creek to irrigate a hay crop you sell is an appropriation. Watering forty head out of the same creek is not. The line is drawn by use, not volume.

Water Code §11.142 is the exemption most ranch buyers rely on. It lets a landowner build, on their own property, a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet for domestic and livestock purposes, with no permit. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, so 200 acre-feet is roughly 65 million gallons. Its edges are where deals go wrong:

• It does not apply to a commercial operation. The statute says so directly.
• It measures normal storage, not what the pond holds after a storm.
• It does not authorize diversion out of a flowing stream.
• It is not a dam safety waiver. Substantial structures are engineered structures.

Vineyard, nursery, paid fishing lake, events venue: assume you are outside §11.142 and price the permit in. A perfected surface water right is property in its own right — confirm the contract conveys it and that the conveyance reaches the TCEQ file.

Who owns the groundwater, and why must the district be named?

You own it, and the Texas Supreme Court said so in language you can take to a lender. On February 24, 2012, in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day, 369 S.W.3d 814, the court held that a landowner has a vested ownership interest in groundwater in place, which cannot be taken for public use without adequate compensation under Article I, §17(a) of the Texas Constitution. In Coyote Lake Ranch, LLC v. City of Lubbock (Tex. 2016), the court extended the accommodation doctrine to a severed groundwater estate — the same problem the severed mineral estate creates.

Ownership in place is not permission to pump. Under Water Code Ch. 36, a groundwater conservation district may limit production based on tract size, set well spacing, require drilling and production permits, and cap output after notice and hearing. Two tracts thirty miles apart can sit under different districts with different minimums, fees, and deadlines. "Check with your local district" is a non-answer. Get the district by name, get the rule book, and get the answer in writing before the option period ends.

Section 36.117 is the one exemption districts must provide: a well used solely for domestic use or for livestock or poultry, on a tract larger than 10 acres, drilled or equipped so it is incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons a day. Turn that well toward a business and the exemption terminates with the use. Note the reverse case as well. Not every Texas acre sits inside a district, and where there is none the rule of capture runs with far less regulation — which cuts both ways, because the neighbor's high-capacity well is equally unregulated.

What does "live water" mean, and what does it do to price?

Live water means a creek, river, or spring that flows year-round across or along the property, as distinct from a wet-weather creek, a seasonal draw, or a runoff-fed stock tank. It is one of the strongest price drivers in Texas land and one of the loosest words in Texas land listings. Before you pay for it:

• Ask how the flow was verified. A photograph taken in May proves May. Ask about the last drought.
• Ask whether the water is on the tract or only along the boundary, and whether the called line still matches the channel.
• If it is a watercourse, the water in it is state water. You are buying frontage and habitat, not a supply you may divert.
• Pull the floodplain. Perennial water and a FEMA flood zone travel together, and that shapes where you can build.

We do not publish a premium multiple for live water. The honest number is county-specific and moves with the drought cycle. We will pull your county's comparable sales and show you what it traded for.

What do you ask about an existing well?

How do you verify water before you close?

1. Identify the groundwater conservation district by name, or confirm there is none.
2. Get its current rules in writing: spacing, tract-size minimums, permits, production limits, fees.
3. Pull every well report on file and match them to wells you can physically find.
4. Order a pump test and a water quality test during the option period, with your own contractor.
5. Ask the TCEQ whether a surface water right exists. If one does, get the permit number, the authorized amount, and the authorized purpose.
6. Read Schedule B for water reservations. Groundwater can be severed, and a prior deed will show it.
7. Confirm what conveys — surface water rights, groundwater, well equipment, shared well agreements.
8. Match the intended use to the law before the option period ends, not after.

The full sequence, with who orders what and when, is in our land due diligence checklist. If the plan is a house, read building on rural land in Texas next.

Frequently asked questions

Does buying the land give me the water in the creek?

No. Surface water in a watercourse is state water under Water Code §11.021, and appropriating it requires a TCEQ permit under §11.121. Owning the bank gives you frontage, access, and usually the ability to water livestock and serve the household. It does not give you the right to divert the stream for irrigation or a commercial use.

How big a pond can I build without a permit?

Water Code §11.142 allows a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet, on your own property, for domestic and livestock purposes, without a permit — about 65 million gallons. The exemption does not apply to a commercial operation, and it does not authorize diverting water out of a flowing stream to fill it.

Do I own the groundwater under my ranch?

Yes, in place. Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day, decided February 24, 2012, held that land ownership includes a vested interest in groundwater beneath the surface, protected from taking without adequate compensation under Texas Constitution Art. I, §17(a). That is ownership, not an unlimited right to pump. Districts still regulate production and spacing under Water Code Ch. 36.

Does my domestic well need a permit?

Often not. Water Code §36.117 requires a district to exempt a well used solely for domestic use or for livestock or poultry, on a tract larger than 10 acres, incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons a day. Registration may still be required, and the exemption ends when the use stops being solely domestic or livestock.

Can groundwater be sold separately from the land?

Yes. The groundwater estate can be severed and conveyed or reserved, the same way minerals are. When it is, Coyote Lake Ranch, LLC v. City of Lubbock (Tex. 2016) requires the groundwater owner to accommodate the surface owner's existing use where a reasonable alternative exists. Schedule B of the title commitment will show the reservation.

Sources and method

Sources and method

Texas Water Code §§11.021, 11.121, 11.142 · Texas Water Code Ch. 36, including §36.117 · Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day, 369 S.W.3d 814 (Tex. 2012), decided February 24, 2012 · Coyote Lake Ranch, LLC v. City of Lubbock (Tex. 2016) · Texas Constitution Art. I §17(a) · Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, water rights permitting · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Texas Well Report Submission and Retrieval System · Texas Water Development Board submitted driller reports · Figures verified August 2026.

Groundwater conservation districts set their own spacing, tract-size, permitting, and production rules, and not every Texas acre lies within a district. Confirm current requirements with the district your land sits in, and with the TCEQ for any surface water use, before you rely on anything here. This is general information, not legal advice.

Send us the county and the tract. We will pull the well reports, name the groundwater conservation district that governs it, and tell you plainly what we see before you spend a dollar on a survey. We live here, and we would rather you know now. Start at Texas Land & Ranch.

The Agency Dallas is independently owned and operated by Damon & Megan Williamson.

Damon Williamson, Broker-Owner · Licensed Real Estate Agent, State of Texas.

Dallas, Dallas County, Texas 75205. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Texas Real Estate Commission Information About Brokerage Services and Consumer Protection Notice are available at trec.texas.gov.

This is not intended as a solicitation of property currently listed for sale.