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List of Water Districts in Texas

Water districts in Texas are referred to as either groundwater conservation districts or underground water conservation districts. Districts are created through a state legislative process or by means of a local petition procedure administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Each conservation district is located within a larger ground water management area. Laws pertaining to groundwater development and protection are administered by the Texas Water Development Board.

  1. History

    • The Texas Legislature began recognizing reservoirs of underground water by creating conservation districts in 1949. In 1989, bodies of underground water became officially known as underground water management areas. Additionally, each conservation district was mandated to create plans to manage each underground water supply. Through further legislation in 1995, the state authorized portions of land to be designated as groundwater management areas. The contents of groundwater management plans were refined and the legislature adopted a regional water planning procedure in 1997. The Texas Water Development Board became authorized in 2001 to develop groundwater management areas and included all aquifers in the state in such areas. Each groundwater conservation district became required to share their plans with other districts and was granted authority to call for shared planning among all districts. In 2005, legislation was passed requiring conservation districts within groundwater management areas to convene at least one time per year to set goals for the condition of groundwater resources.

    Purpose

    • Groundwater management areas containing conservation districts were created for protecting and preserving sources of ground water found in underground reservoirs. Additionally, these management areas are responsible for conserving water supplies by reducing wasteful uses of the resource, and controlling the collapse of land resulting from withdrawal of ground water.

    Monitoring

    • The TWDB, Groundwater Resources Division is charged with monitoring ground water studies including monitoring water levels and assuring water quality in management areas and conservation districts. The TWDB also maintains records concerning water wells, approves all groundwater management plans, and offers information and assistance to citizens and the state pertaining to groundwater. Many of the water wells monitored by the TWDB are for the purpose of irrigation, household use, and livestock watering, while others are owned by commercial water supply companies and industrial interests. Water levels are measured using several methods, depending on the type of well being monitored. Methods include the use of steel tape, electric lines, sonic detectors and pressure gauges.

    Statistics

    • As of March 2011, there are 96 confirmed groundwater conservation districts in the state either fully or partially covering 172 counties. The largest district, known as the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District Number One, consists of 12,000 square miles. The Red Sands Groundwater Conservation District is the smallest, comprising 31 square miles. Total groundwater usage in the state was approximately 9.7 million acre-feet in 2008.

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