WHOSE WATER IS IT ANYWAY? – part 4 & final one

(4) PERCOLATING GROUNDWATER – finish – rule of capture for water as for oil & gas.  Permits drainage from underneath a neighbor’s property (& vice versa) as long as it occurs from a legal location.  Water depends on a groundwater district & this district dictates distances from property lines.  If no district then that not required.  Texas law imposes damages if drainage causes wastes, injures a neighbor or causes subsidence.  (5)  WATER IN UNDERGROUND STREAMS & LAKES – belongs to state.  The presumption of percolating groundwater has not been overcome.  Below level water belongs to owners, BUT groundwater district has right to space & limit wells.   Finally water is a valuable commodity in Texas and ownership is prominent in real estate transactions and on a land sale water CAN BE CONVEYED OR RESERVED.