What are groundwater conservation districts?

Groundwater conservation districts are the designated entities responsible for overseeing water underground in aquifers. The districts, which began to proliferate throughout the state in the mid- and late 90s, are responsible for creating plans to manage the groundwater and maintain the health of aquifers.

The absence of a groundwater conservation district is what led to a small hysteria in 2015, when a Houston-based company proposed to pump up to 5.3 million gallons of water per day from a formerly unregulated portion of the Trinity Aquifer in Hays County.

The groundwater was brought under the oversight of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District via House Bill 3405, by State Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, at the end of the 2015 session.

Two years later, with the 2017 session likely coming to a close this summer, groundwater is back in the news with a steady stream of bills at the Capitol potentially lessening groundwater conservation districts’ abilities to regulate groundwater in areas such as Hays County.