What are the requirements for water well disclosure as real property? House Bill 1221, affecting all transfers taking place January 1, 2016 or later, requires sellers of residential real estate to disclose whether any part of a property is in a groundwater conservation district (GCD) or subsidence district. It officially incorporates groundwater as an important component of real property, but the law expressly states that it does not apply “unless the seller has actual knowledge on the date of the notice that the real property is located” in a GCD, and does not “create any duty for any person to investigate to determine if the residential real property is located” in a GCD. So if you simply don’t know, you’re not required to find out.¹ If property you own is in a GCD, you have an opportunity --and some would say responsibility-- to be informed and involved in its rulemaking and operations. Groundwater districts exist for the protection of shared groundwater, to ensure l...Read More

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Licensed to Grow By Barbra Rodriguez A wet year in many parts of Texas may have you wondering whether to spend time replacing landscape greenery that requires frequent watering. Unfortunately, Texas’ burgeoning population will likely intensify water restrictions, and long-range forecasts still include drought. ABOVE: A closeup of the mix of seven native grasses that were compared to bermudagrass and buffalograss in the 2011 study at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. By Bruce Leander, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. One way take a major chunk out of future watering bills is to replace your traditional lawn of Bermudagrass or other non-native grasses with one that requires less water and other resources. The good news is the Wildflower Center’s native turfgrass, Habiturf® will soon be available as sod. The turfgrass that includes Buffalograss and two other short grass species found in the South has been licensed by The Un...Read More

SPRINGTOWN--  Based on Driller’s Reports submitted to the Texas Water Development Board, there were more wells drilled within the boundaries of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District in 2015 than in any of the other 100 groundwater districts in the state. Further, there were more new water wells reported in Parker County (559) than in any other county, said UTGCD General Manager, Doug Shaw. Also, of the 254 counties in Texas, all four of the Counties within the boundaries of the District fell within the top 75 most active counties in the state: Wise County had the 12th most new wells (247), Montague County 59th (78) and Hood County 72nd (67). “Once thought of as an unending supply of water, modern science and on-the-ground data are now showing us that many areas within the District may potentially face groundwater shortages in the future,” Shaw said. “The District currently takes underground water level readings at approximately 150 wells in the four c...Read More

Does it cost anything to register my well? There is no charge for registering an existing well (drilled before 2009). What if I need to drill a new well? You must register your new well PRIOR to drilling. Oftentimes, a drilling company will register the well on your behalf but the responsibility falls on the landowner. Check with your driller. In addition, all new wells must comply with, or obtain a variance for, the following rules: Property must be at least 2 acres. Well must be drilled at least 50 feet from the nearest property line. Well must be drilled at least 150 ft away from any other registered wells. To see a full list of requirements, click here. To apply for an exception to the minimum spacing requirements you can download a copy of the form here. What if I purchased property with a well already on it? As the current landowner you are required to file a registration form to show a transfer of ownership. What does the District do with the information on the regis...Read More

The Upper Trinity GCD has purchased 14 new dataloggers for wells in its water well monitoring network which was established in 2010. The dataloggers are set to measure water well levels every hour and will be recorded by District staff each month. The automatic datalogging equipment is permanently installed in the designated wells, which will offer the District significantly more information than recorded in the quarterly readings made by District staff. Review of the hourly readings has already shown potential areas of recharge in the District which were previously unidentified. The District includes over 200 wells throughout the District. The program provides the District with localized information on particular areas of concern and insight into the health of the aquifers in the selected regions. Due to the progress of the District's program in purchasing the new dataloggers, more information will be readily available to the public and to District hydrologists. This new info...Read More

A subdivision is being put on hold due to a ground water shortage(Photo: WFAA) Demand is growing for nice rural subdivisions in west Parker County, but when a developer tried to build a new one next to a neighborhood near Brock, he ran into the new reality: not enough water. "There would be times when it would draw down the aquifer quite a bit. Some of those wells may not be able to produce," said Doug Shaw, a general manager of the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation district. The district was created six years ago to protect water supplies. It allows only one well for every two acres. The developer proposed one well per acre for 34 lots. Shaw says on a hot day, 34 new wells could quickly drop the aquifer level. "Like 10 feet in a half hour or so. Once stabilized it would come back up," Shaw said. A nearby monitoring well shows a stair step decline over the last 10 years -- a decrease of about eight feet, or roughly 25 percent. ...Read More

The Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (UTGCD) has purchased the equipment to test for coliform bacteria in water wells. Currently the District is not charging a fee for the test. The analyses are performed in accordance with analytical methods approved by the EPA, Texas Water   Development Board, the Hach Co., or Idexx Laboratories, Inc. UTGCD in-house analyses are not state-certified. The analysis results are intended to be representative of the water quality on the day of sampling only, and future samples from the same site may yield different results. “Coliform bacteria are a group of microorganisms commonly found in soil, surface water, and on plants. They are also present in the intestines of animals and humans. Coliform bacteria that are washed into the ground by rain are usually filtered out as the water goes through the soil and into groundwater systems. However, poorly constructed, cracked or unsealed wells can provide a path for coliform bacteria to enter...Read More

In 2012 the North Texas Groundwater Conservation District, the Northern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, Prairielands Groundwater Conservation District, and the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (the Districts) formed an Inter-local Agreement to fund the update of the Northern Trinity/Woodbine Groundwater Availability Model (NTW GAM). This unique cooperation between districts was born out of a recognition of the potential benefits that an improved modeling tool would provide in the regional joint planning process (GMA-8) and in management of groundwater resources within their Districts. The revised GAM will also provide a new and improved tool for all the districts within GMA-8. The team is led by INTERA, Inc. a Texas based Corporation. We are teamed with LBG-Guyton and the Bureau of Economic Geology. Specifically, the NTW GAM update efforts include: developing a more detailed characterization of aquifers within the boundaries of the Districts; improving and ...Read More

On January 18, Upper Trinity GCD began visiting local schools and communities with an educational exhibit to promote groundwater awareness and conservation practices. It consists of a working model of an aquifer, educational videos, and oil and gas demonstrational material to show the processes of water in hydraulic fracturing. The exhibit is housed in a 24-foot enclosed trailer that is ADA-accessible and equipped with heating and cooling system depending on weather conditions. District staff demonstrates the aquifer model and answers questions during the scheduled visit about the effects of groundwater withdrawal and the purpose of registering water wells.The curriculum focuses on the TEKS objectives for groundwater and aquifers as well as the importance of water conservation. The exhibit has visited numerous schools in Montague and Parker counties, reaching nearly 850 students in Spring 2013. The Upper Trinity GCD has identified water conservation as a key factor in protectin...Read More

Despite recent rainfall, water level trends from this past year show that one year cannot make up for an extended period of severe drought. It will take more than relying on the weather to return the aquifer to stability, and if you have a water well, the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District invites your participation in a groundwater level monitoring program that will help reveal the future of groundwater availability for the counties of Montague, Wise, Parker, and Hood. The District has partnered with a geosciences firm to assess groundwater levels more accurately and will rely on the permission of individual well owners to obtain accurate well-level readings. Once the well location is determined and permission is granted, a field technician will monitor the well once every three months. This will give participating well owners an inclusive evaluation of the characteristics of the aquifer supplying their well. The benefits of participating in the well monitoring program...Read More