Water Rights in TX

Question 1

What is the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation

Answer 1

State controls water usage, grants usage permits

Question 2

What does the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) do?

Answer 2

Issues water rights for people who can show a beneficial use for the water

Question 3

What are littoral rights?

Answer 3

• Abutting property owners can own land to high water mark

- May use, but the state owns underlying land

Question 4

What are riparian rights?

Answer 4

• If navigable, abutting property owners own land to water’s edge
• May use, but the state owns underlying land
• If not navigable, owner owns land to midpoint of waterway

Question 5

Does a landowner own groundwater in TX?

Answer 5

No. However, according to the rule of capture, a landowner does have a right to pump the water, even if it depletes the source

Question 6

What does the Texas Open Beaches Act state?

Answer 6

States that the land b/t the high and low tide lines in considered a public beach and structures may not be built on the easement. In the case of a hurricane, these easements may shift to include property previously built. In this case, the state has the right to tell the property owner to move or raze the property