Who Decides Ownership of Water Rights in Texas?

On March 24, the Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case posing the question of who determines ownership of water rights in Texas: the courts or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality?

The case involves a 2014 purchase of farmland that transferred surface water rights to the buyers. Those rights originated from a 1986 lawsuit judgment. However, after the 2014 purchase, the TCEQ determined that an adjacent landowner owned a portion of those water rights.

Now that matter is before the supreme court. Read details about the case on the Texas Agriculture Law Blog.

#farmandranch #waterrights