Tex. Codes » Water Code · TITLE 2. WATER ADMINISTRATION · SUBTITLE E. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT · CHAPTER 36. GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
Texas Codes

Tex. Water Code § 36.002 (2026)

Ownership Of Groundwater

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section TX-LEGstatutes.capitol.texas.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Sec. 36.002. OWNERSHIP OF GROUNDWATER. (a) The legislature recognizes that a landowner owns the groundwater below the surface of the landowner's land as real property.

(b) The groundwater ownership and rights described by this section entitle the landowner, including a landowner's lessees, heirs, or assigns, to:

(1) drill for and produce the groundwater below the surface of real property, subject to Subsection (d), without causing waste or malicious drainage of other property or negligently causing subsidence; and

(2) have any other right recognized under common law.

(b-1) The groundwater ownership and rights described by this section do not:

(1) entitle a landowner, including a landowner's lessees, heirs, or assigns, to the right to capture a specific amount of groundwater below the surface of that landowner's land; or

(2) affect the existence of common law defenses or other defenses to liability under the rule of capture.

(c) Nothing in this code shall be construed as granting the authority to deprive or divest a landowner, including a landowner's lessees, heirs, or assigns, of the groundwater ownership and rights described by this section.

(d) This section does not:

(1) prohibit a district from limiting or prohibiting the drilling of a well by a landowner for failure or inability to comply with minimum well spacing or tract size requirements adopted by the district;

(2) affect the ability of a district to regulate groundwater production as authorized under Section 36.113, 36.116, or 36.122 or otherwise under this chapter or a special law governing a district; or

(3) require that a rule adopted by a district allocate to each landowner a proportionate share of available groundwater for production from the aquifer based on the number of acres owned by the landowner.

(e) This section does not affect the ability to regulate groundwater in any manner authorized under:

(1) Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, for the Edwards Aquifer Authority;

(2) Chapter 8801, Special District Local Laws Code, for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District; and

(3) Chapter 8834, Special District Local Laws Code, for the Fort Bend Subsidence District.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 933, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 966, Sec. 2.31, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1116 (H.B. 2423), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1207 (S.B. 332), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 590 (H.B. 4112), Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 2015.

SUBCHAPTER B. CREATION OF DISTRICT


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2007–2025 · leading case: The Edwards Aquifer Auth. & the State of Texas v. Burrell Day & Joel McDaniel, 369 S.W.3d 814 (Tex. 2012).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
The Edwards Aquifer Auth. & the State of Texas v. Burrell Day & Joel McDaniel, 369 S.W.3d 814 (Tex. 2012). · cites it 2× “Laws 4673 , 4680 (adopting Tex Water Code § 36.002) ("The ownership and rights of the owners of the land and their lessees and assigns in groundwater are hereby recognized, and nothing in this code shall be construed as depriving or divesting the owners or their lessees and…”
David Stratta v. Billy Harris, 961 F.3d 340 (5th Cir. 2020). “” TEXAS WATER CODE § 36.002(c). With a cogent observation, the court rebuffed an argument, rather like BVGCD’s argument here, that groundwater rights by their nature are “too inchoate” to merit constitutional protection: the intolerable extreme of that argument would allow a…”
FPL Farming Ltd. v. Env't Processing Sys., L.C., 305 S.W.3d 739 (Tex. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “” See Tex. Water Code Ann. § 36.002 (Vernon 2008).”
Coates v. Hall, 512 F. Supp. 2d 770 (W.D. Tex. 2007). “See Tex. Water Code § 36.002; see Barshop, 925 S.”
Pub. Util. Comm'n of Texas & North Fort Bend Water Auth. v. City of Fulshear, Texas (Tex. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “Tex. Water Code § 36.002(a) (“The legislature recognizes that a landowner owns the groundwater below the surface of the landowner’s land as real property.”
Untitled Texas Attorney Gen. Opinion (Tex. Att'y Gen. 2014). · cites it 3× “" TEX. WATER CoDE ANN. § 36.002(a) (West Supp.”
FPL Farming Ltd. v. Env't Processing Sys., L.C. (Tex. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “" See Tex. Water Code Ann. § 36.002 (Vernon 2008).”
Untitled Texas Attorney Gen. Opinion (Tex. Att'y Gen. 2012). · cites it 2× “019, a county in a PGMA is not generally prohibited by section 36.002 from exercising its limited authority to adopt water availability requirements for purposes of platting.”
Quadvest, L.P. & Woodland Oaks Util., L.P. v. San Jacinto River Auth. (Tex. App. 2024). “6See Tex. Water Code Ann. § 36.002 . 5 have historically relied on groundwater in Montgomery County for the water they supply to their customers.”
BLF Land, LLC v. Frerich (N.D. Tex. 2024). “See TEX. WATER CODE § 36.002(b-1)(1). (“The groundwater ownership and rights described in this section do not entitle a landowner .”
— Tex. Water Code § 36.002(a) — 4 cases
The Edwards Aquifer Auth. & the State of Texas v. Burrell Day & Joel McDaniel, 369 S.W.3d 814 (Tex. 2012). “Laws 4673 , 4680 (adopting Tex Water Code § 36.002) ("The ownership and rights of the owners of the land and their lessees and assigns in groundwater are hereby recognized, and nothing in this code shall be construed as depriving or divesting the owners or their lessees and…”
Pub. Util. Comm'n of Texas & North Fort Bend Water Auth. v. City of Fulshear, Texas (Tex. App. 2025). “Tex. Water Code § 36.002(a) (“The legislature recognizes that a landowner owns the groundwater below the surface of the landowner’s land as real property.”
Untitled Texas Attorney Gen. Opinion (Tex. Att'y Gen. 2014). “" TEX. WATER CoDE ANN. § 36.002(a) (West Supp.”
Untitled Texas Attorney Gen. Opinion (Tex. Att'y Gen. 2012). “019, a county in a PGMA is not generally prohibited by section 36.002 from exercising its limited authority to adopt water availability requirements for purposes of platting.”
— Tex. Water Code § 36.002(b)(l) — 1 case
Untitled Texas Attorney Gen. Opinion (Tex. Att'y Gen. 2014). “" TEX. WATER CoDE ANN. § 36.002(a) (West Supp.”
— Tex. Water Code § 36.002(c) — 1 case
David Stratta v. Billy Harris, 961 F.3d 340 (5th Cir. 2020). “” TEXAS WATER CODE § 36.002(c). With a cogent observation, the court rebuffed an argument, rather like BVGCD’s argument here, that groundwater rights by their nature are “too inchoate” to merit constitutional protection: the intolerable extreme of that argument would allow a…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.