Water Supply Contracts

All surface water in Texas is owned by the state and held in trust for use by the citizens of Texas. There are a number of ways one may obtain water in Texas:

• be a landowner with property adjacent to a waterway,
• obtain a water right from the state, or
• purchase water from a person or organization that has a water right such as the Brazos River Authority.

To learn more about water rights in the State of Texas, click here.

The Brazos River Authority makes water available to municipal, industrial, mining, irrigation, and agricultural interests throughout the Brazos River basin through water supply contracts.

System Water Availability Agreement

System contracts are issued for a specific term, usually ranging from 5 to 35 years. They are subject to the supply available to the BRA from its water rights permits and reservoirs.

System Water Availability Agreements are issued at the System Rate, which is adjusted annually. The current System Rate for fiscal year 2026 is $106.00 per acre-foot per year.

System Water Availability Agreement - Agricultural Water Use

For agricultural users who meet the specific qualifications for agricultural use, the rate is $74.20 per acre-foot per year for fiscal year 2026. The Agricultural Rate is 70% of the current System Rate.

The term "agricultural" applies to the following activities:

• (A) cultivating the soil to produce crops for human food, animal feed, or planting seed or for the production of fibers;
• (B) the practice of floriculture, viticulture, silviculture, and horticulture, including the cultivation of plants in containers or non-soil media, by a nursery grower;
• (C) the irrigation of pastureland; and
• (D) planting cover crops, including cover crops cultivated for transplantation, or leaving land idle for the purpose of participating in any governmental program or normal crop or livestock rotation procedure.