Texas law recognizes that a landowner owns everything beneath his or her property, including oil, gas, water and minerals.

Local groundwater conservation districts regulate the production of water in their jurisdictions. For example, the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (PGWCD) www.panhandlegroundwater.org requires that:

1. Pumping be limited to one-acre foot per year per surface acre
2. 50% of the 1998 aquifer volume must remain in place in 2048 (“50% Rule”)
3. Water may be sold only for municipal use within Texas
4. Wells must be spaced and located to minimize impact on neighbors

For years, cities and municipal water providers have been purchasing water rights from property owners in the Panhandle. Up to now, not all of the landowners who wanted to sell their water rights were able to do so. Simply put, there was more water for sale than needed.

That's when some Texas Panhandle families got together with Mesa Water, to market water from landowners who were interested in selling their water rights. Mesa Water offered an opportunity for people to realize the value of their land, just like their neighbors.

In 2002 and 2004 the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District issued pumping permits allowing Mesa Water to transfer water to North Central Texas and San Antonio. With these permits, water pipelines can be operational within five years, decades sooner than most water projects identified in the current Region C and South Central Texas plans.