Groundwater has long provided a major part of the Texas water supply. Undeveloped groundwater can help meet growing demand for water in Texas. Texas has two distinct legal systems governing water: groundwater and surface water. Surface water is owned by the state, which grants water rights to use specific volumes of water for beneficial uses. The Texas Water Code recognizes surface water rights issued in perpetuity as private rights that can be bought and sold.
Property Rights
Oakland fined this couple $915,000 for preventing fires. That’s 18 times the penalty for actual arson
Imagine buying a piece of property, being ordered by the government to clear it of fire hazards, and then being handed a near-million-dollar bill by that same government for doing exactly what it asked. It sounds like a dystopian satire of bureaucratic overreach, but for Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner, it is a harrowing legal...
August 19, 2026