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Water School

Archive by category: GroundwaterReturn
What is groundwater?

What is groundwater?

Groundwater is water found beneath the Earth’s surface that gradually seeped down by saturating soil or rock. This water is stored in underground crevices and in the pores of rocks and other materials beneath the surface.
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What is subsidence?

What is subsidence?

Subsidence is a drop in the surface level of land. It sometimes occurs when groundwater is pumped from an aquifer. During this virtually irreversible process, cracks, fissures and sinkholes can appear in the ground.The southern area of the Brazos River basin has experienced a great deal of subsidence. To combat this problem, regulatory bodies known as subsidence districts were created by the State of Texas to begin lowering the use of groundwater and moving to a larger use of surface water in or...
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What is a groundwater district?

Groundwater districts are organizations created by legislation or through the petition process to provide administration over the use of water pumped from a specific area.  These districts have limited power, primarily in the spacing of wells, education, and planning, prohibiting waste, and permitting well drilling.The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has a myriad of information on groundwater supplies in Texas. The Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD) is an organiza...
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What is a spring?

A spring is a place where groundwater flows naturally from the Earth’s surface. There are two types: gravity springs and non-gravity springs. Gravity springs can be depression spring, surface springs, or artesian springs.  Depression springs: form when a water table intersects with the ground surface, and the water overflows. A water table is an underground boundary of soil saturation. These types of springs vary depending on the raising and lowering of the water table. ...
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How are groundwater rights determined?

Texas groundwater has long been governed by the “rule of capture” doctrine, generally meaning if you can capture it from beneath your property it is yours, regardless of impacts beyond your property. However, in the late 1940s, the Texas Legislature passed a law that allowed for the creation of groundwater conservation districts. These entities have limited power over groundwater, primarily in the spacing of wells, education and planning, prohibiting waste, and permitting well drilli...
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The information provided on this site is intended as background on water within the Brazos River basin. There should be no expectation that this information is all encompassing, complete or in any way examines every aspect of this very complex natural resource.

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