Frequently Asked Questions

The answer at least partially depends on what you plan to do with the property and how large the property is. A single family home on 5 acres is a lot different than a man camp or convenience store. You need to VERIFY there will be a source of water. Don't take your realtor or property owner's word for it. What's the saying? Trust but verify. Check with the local water utility company. Just because your property may be within their service area does NOT guarantee they will or can provide water. If they do state they can provide water service, ask about construction costs, if any, and impact fees. Is there an existing well currently in use on site? If yes, I highly recommend you collect a set of water samples for "new wells" to determine if the water will meet TCEQ water quality requirements. Ask for well construction/completion details. Ask who services the well and equipment. If applicable, check with the local groundwater conservation district (GCD). Ask about drilling permits and operating permits. Some GCDs have a moratorium on issuing new drilling permits. This will certainly impact your timeline! Some GCDs limit production to 0.5 acre-ft per acre of property. This is only 893 gallons per day (gpd) per acre. While that is more than enough for a single family home, it may not be enough for your project. Many of the GCDs have "technical" people on staff who have a very good understanding of the geology and aquifer(s) in the area and might be able to provide insight on what to expect in your area. Check City or County regulations that might affect your ability to drill and install a well and use the well as a water source. You made it this far and know there are no limitations on drilling and using a well as your water source. Great! But is there a groundwater source available and able to provide the quantity of water you will need for your project? This is where conversations with local water well drillers, local GCDs, and us (CSE) can help. We wrote the above list in a manner that you can do this yourself. Though if you want to hand this off to CSE, we are more than willing to assist. Give us a call to discuss your project.

See FAQ 01 in this section.

It depends. If your project is within a CCN mapped service area, or within 1/2-mile of a boundary, the TCEQ will require that you request service from the retail utility provider. In some cases, there may be more than one. The three main possible responses from the water provider are: approve request for service utilizing existing infrastructure or they extend at their cost, approve request for service with requirement you pay for construction costs to extend their line, or deny request for service. Scenario 1: You would not require your own PWS. In fact, this response would make it difficult to get the TCEQ to approve your own PWS. Scenario 2: TCEQ will require we prepare a 5-yr cost estimate comparing the cost to connect to water utility vs. your own independent PWS. The TCEQ requires the water utility to provide the construction cost estimate. The utility provided cost estimate should include any credits if they determine they will share in the cost. The utility may charge an engineering fee for this, and you would have to pay it. This is submitted to the TCEQ as an... exception request. The estimated cost to create your own PWS must be less than 90% of the cost to connect to the water utility. If the TCEQ approves this type of exception request, they will include a condition in the letter granting the exception request that you create a reserve account that is earmarked for PWS emergency use. The initial deposit is $5,000 and must grow up to $20,000 on a set schedule. Scenario 3: This response will allow you to proceed without the need to submit an exception request. Web sites of interest to this topic: The PUC Water and Sewer CCN Viewer. This map shows the service area boundaries for water and sewer utilities. TCEQ's Water Districts Viewer. This map shows Municipal Utility Districts. TCEQ's Source Water Assessment and Protection Viewer. This map shows existing PWS wells and surface water intake locations.