X
GO

Water School

Why must I buy water? If water belongs to the state, why is it not provided free of charge?

Water rights are issued by the State of Texas with a small annual fee necessary to pay the costs of the permitting program at the issuing agency.  In many cases the State of Texas has created special districts, such as the Brazos River Authority, to develop and manage surface water supplies.

The cost of building and maintaining dams and reservoirs, and all the other costs for managing water supplies, is not paid by the state and is not supported by any tax revenue.  The revenue to pay those costs is covered by the sales price of water.

Water is not provided free of charge to the general public due to costs associated with the process of collecting, treating, transporting, and overseeing water quality and quantity.  There are costs associated with water availability whether surface or ground water is the source.

Related

Share

Search
Categories

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.

If you have questions about a post or would like additional information, please contact us or call 888-922-6272.

Tags
camping gas lake levels effluent river subsidence inland rights electric companies dock sediment invasive plants flood sanitation spring canoe spillway monitor dam governance water treatment lawn climate riverine hydrology fishing maps environmental hydrilla lakes classification hunting contract clarity precipitation water planning oxygen aquifer use water quality drought bed and banks agriculture indirect re-use well municipal sewage main stem authority consumption supply costs appropriation taste water use bay agricultural volume allens creek reservoir Board aerobic septic drinking water depth bottled water parasite habitat organic storage releases basin flood pool mission fertilizer water code chlorides gulf cfs industry wetlands marsh insurance lake level corps quality minerals wildlife USGS water cycle recreation streamflow streamflow kayak groundwater subwatershed map TCEQ environment farming salinity gate salt pollutants pharmaceuticals reservoir E coli E. coli meta tag acre-feet algae water supply speaker hydrologic cycle impound industrial wastewater possum kingdom measure surface water watercourse conservation permit tributary evaporation golden algea estuary granbury corps of engineers water water plants infection mainstem fish kill lake calcium flood control lake employment riparian water clarity drilling inundated electricity ground water potable turbidity smell jobs rain system emergency use brackish runoff legislation landscaping planning beneficial use hydropower treatment subsidence district limestone mitigation fork soil contaminants water rights canoeing wetland xeriscape gage PAM stream reservoirs channel acre-foot medicine solids anaerobic septic system mgd boating watershed sludge chlorine biosolids direct re-use filter dissolved solids golden algae