Tex. Water Code § 11.142 · Subchapter D. PERMITS TO USE STATE WATER
PERMIT EXEMPTIONS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct on the person's own property a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet of water for domestic and livestock purposes. A person who temporarily stores more than 200 acre-feet of water in a dam or reservoir described by this subsection is not required to obtain a permit for the dam or reservoir if the person can demonstrate that the person has not stored in the dam or reservoir more than 200 acre-feet of water on average in any 12-month period. This exemption does not apply to a commercial operation.
Text of subsec. (b) as amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 966, Sec. 2.09
(b) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct on the person's property a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet of water for fish and wildlife purposes if the property on which the dam or reservoir will be constructed is qualified open-space land, as defined by Section 23.51, Tax Code. This exemption does not apply to a commercial operation.
Text of subsec. (b) as amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1427, Sec. 1
(b) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct on the person's property in an unincorporated area a dam or reservoir with normal storage of not more than 200 acre-feet of water for commercial or noncommercial wildlife management, including fishing, but not including fish farming.
(c) Without obtaining a permit, a person who is drilling and producing petroleum and conducting operations associated with drilling and producing petroleum may take for those purposes state water from the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent bays and arms of the Gulf of Mexico in an amount not to exceed one acre-foot during each 24-hour period.
(d) Without obtaining a permit, a person may construct or maintain a reservoir as part of a surface coal mining operation under Chapter 134, Natural Resources Code, if the water in the reservoir is used solely for:
(1) sediment control; or
(2) compliance with applicable laws, rules, or regulations relating to fire or dust suppression.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2207, ch. 870, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 718, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 1985; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 335, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1010, Sec. 2.11, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 966, Sec. 2.09, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1427, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 63 (S.B. 1711), Sec. 1, eff. May 19, 2009.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/WA/htm/WA.11.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 16110352cf828de95a025052357f194fdc658a760c614e1aac696cd04701e6cf
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 5 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Water Code § 11.142. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Local Government Code
Water Code
- Tex. Water Code § 5.701FEES.Printed as Section 11.142
- Tex. Water Code § 11.121PERMIT REQUIRED.Printed as Sections 11.1405, 11.142, 11.1421, 11.1422, and 18.003
- Tex. Water Code § 11.143USE OF WATER FROM EXEMPT DAM OR RESERVOIR FOR NONEXEMPT PURPOSES.Printed as Section 11.142(a)
- Tex. Water Code § 16.236CONSTRUCTION OF LEVEE WITHOUT APPROVAL OF PLANS; LEVEE SAFETY.Printed as Section 11.142
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.