Groundwater Management

Groundwater issues are often about water quality, water quantity or both. State agencies such as the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Railroad Commission of Texas, and others have regulatory responsibilities for activities relating to groundwater quality protection. The TCEQ is the state's primary environmental regulatory agency. State law authorizes the TCEQ to establish the level of water quality to be maintained, and to control sources of pollutants that may affect the quality of water in the state, including groundwater.

However, state law does not provide the TCEQ or any other state agency the authority to manage or regulate groundwater pumpage and use, which affect groundwater quantity. Groundwater conservation districts are units of local government with the authority to regulate the spacing and production of water wells and are the state's preferred method for the management of groundwater resources. For more on groundwater management, see TGPC's Management of Groundwater.