The Texas Senate is currently working to pass Senate Bill (SB) 332 which would maintain that landowners have a vested ownership in the water beneath the surface of their property.

The bill was filed after groundwater conservation districts (GCD) claimed that the landowner did not have an interest in the groundwater until it was captured.

The Rule of Capture was established in 1904 by the Texas Supreme Court. This ownership gives the landowner the right to capture the groundwater without being held liable for damage to others. GCDs were established in 2001 to help protect and conserve groundwater.

SB 332 would ensure that GCDs respect the vested ownership of the landowner.

This bill states that a property owner has a vested ownership, interest in and the right to produce the groundwater below the surface of their property, “except those rights and interests may be reasonably limited by rules promulgated by a district.”

“It appears that the bill’s language does a good job of describing groundwater ownership, while at the same time making clear that the GCD’s ability to manage groundwater resources for current and future generations remains intact,” Lone Star GCD General Manager Kathy Jones said.

The Lone Stare GCD serves Montgomery County. It aims to protect the landowner’s vested ownership while protecting the water source.

 “The Legislature decided that locally-controlled districts could effectively respond to the unique geology, hydrology, climate, recharge rate and demands of a region to maintain a balance between protecting the rights of private landowners and the responsibility to protect the water resource,” Jones said.

Jones said that as a legal entity each GCD is required to develop a groundwater management plan that outlines the GCD’s goals, adopt rules, keep records of drilling, equipping and completing of water wells, establish a permitting program, register all water wells with the GCD and establish procedures.

The Lone Star GCD works with both residential and commercial properties. Residential properties are not required to be permitted or pay annual water use fees.

GCDs are either a tax based district or a fee based district, explained Jones. Lone Star GCD is fee based, meaning they charge a fee for every 1,000 gallons of groundwater produced.

“The Water Code states that a GCD cannot charge a production fee greater than 17 cents per 1,000 gallons of groundwater pumped. The Lone Star GCD has adopted a pumpage fee of 6 cents per 1,000 gallons of groundwater produced for 2011,” Jones said. “Assuming these fees are passed on to consumers, it will have an average impact of 43 cents per month or $5 per year based on an average family using approximately 100,000 gallons of water yearly.”

In addition to protecting and conserving the groundwater, the Lone Star GCD is making strides to sustain groundwater for the future as the population in Montgomery County continues to grow.

“As the governmental entity tasked with the management and regulation of the groundwater resources of Montgomery County, the district must confront the significant challenges created by the increasing water demands of the county's rapidly expanding population,” Jones said.

The district’s goals include planning for the future of the groundwater resources in Montgomery County by using management strategies created by the district which would protect the area from the negative effects of the depletion of the area's aquifers and subsidence.

“As a whole, the current language in SB 332 should preserve the Lone Star GCD’s ability to carry out its regulatory plan without significant changes,” she added. “This is a positive for Montgomery County, as substantial amounts of money are presently being invested in major water infrastructure projects that are designed to reduce groundwater production within the county.”

For more information, visit lonestargcd.org.

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