Unlike groundwater, which is owned by the landowner as a real property right, surface water is legally owned by the state in Texas. Texas owns the corpus of the surface water but allocates this water through the issuance of rights for beneficial use of the water. Most Texas surface water rights are held in perpetuity and can only be cancelled for non-use over an extended period of time (TWC 11.0235(a)). Such usufructuary rights are recognized as private rights and entitle the appropriator of a given amount of water from a particular diversion point for a particular beneficial use enumer- ated in law. Such rights can be bought and sold with minimal state review if the purpose of use is not changed in the transaction.
Economy
Liberty Action Agenda
The Liberty Action Agenda is a set of critical reforms that must be made to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas. To ensure the flourishing of Texans during the next quarter-century, we must work now toward these bold policy proposals that embody the Texas ideal. FULL CAMPAIGN AGENDAS Taxpayer Protection Project | Government Reform and Oversight Coalition |...
January 19, 2026