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Abandoned Wells
Abandoned wells are a threat to well water and public safety. Abandoned wells provide a direct channel for contaminants to pollute the aquifer below. Contaminants that enter a well are introduced directly into the aquifer with no opportunity for natural filtration by soils or geologic materials.
Abandoned wells also present the possibility that a humans or animals can fall into the unplugged wells and suffer injury or death. Texas law makes the landowner responsible for plugging abandoned wells and liable for any water contamination or injury.
- TGPC's Landowner's Guide to Plugging Abandoned Water Wells
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service's Abandoned Well Plugging
- The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service on-line Bookstore offers a number of publications on abandoned water wells such as "Plugging Abandoned Water Wells" (B-6238) and "Capping of Water Wells for Future Use" (L-5490). Hard copies or free electronic downloads of these publications are available after setting up an account.
- TDLR's Water Well Drillers and Pump Installers Technical Guidance on Abandoned or Deteriorated Water Wells
- TDLR's Well Construction and Plugging Specifications
- TDLR's Abandoned Well Determination Checklist
- RRC's Federally Funded Well Plugging and State Managed Well Plugging for oil and gas industry wells
Possible Funding Resources
- Technical and financial assistance are available to landowners to address resource concerns through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Water well decommissioning is an available conservation practice. For more information, please see their Well Decommissioning Conservation Practice Standard or contact a USDA NRCS conservationist at your local USDA Service Center.
- The Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts has an online Viewer (GCD Index) which provides detailed information about the state's Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs). Below is a map of the GCDs with cost share programs for plugging abandoned water wells based on 2023 GCD Index data. Note that map layer boundaries have been simplified for display purposes. A summary of these GCDs with plugging programs is available.
- Pan and zoom the map to the area of interest, then click a brightly colored GCD for its program summary and contact information. If desired, click the URL, and then click the URL again in the new browser tab to confirm the redirect. Click the back arrow on the left side of the red banner to close the pop-up.
- The icon on the left side of the black banner opens and closes the map legend. The arrow on the left side of the text at the top of the legend expands and collapses the map details. The box in the bottom left corner of the legend switches the base map between roads and satellite view. The icon on the right side of the black banner opens the map in a new browser tab.
