CCN Disputes in West Houston: What Happens When Your Development Lands Inside Someone Else’s Certified Service Area

What does a CCN give the utility that holds it?

Exclusive territory, and an obligation. Under Texas Water Code Chapter 13, §13.242(a), a utility or water supply corporation needs a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) to sell retail water or sewer service, and no retail utility may extend into an area another is lawfully serving without one. Section 13.252 lets the PUC stop a utility that interferes with or extends into another's certificated area.

The obligation is in §13.250(a): the holder must serve every consumer in its certified area and render continuous and adequate service. That duty does not settle when, at what capacity, or who pays for the extension. One more catch: a water supply corporation or special utility district need not extend service in a subdivision whose developer did not follow its noticed subdivision service extension policy (§13.2502).

How do you find out whose CCN covers a West Houston site?

Start with the PUC's Water and Sewer CCN Viewer, then confirm. The PUC's CCN mapping page says the viewer searches by address or CCN number and draws on the official CCN data, which you can download as shapefiles for GIS or CAD. If the viewer cannot place your property, PUC mapping staff will help.

A blank map is not the whole answer. The PUC notes that cities and districts do not need a CCN unless they serve within an existing CCN, so a municipal utility district may serve land that shows no certificate. Check the district boundaries too, and ask each provider for a written answer on capacity and terms.

What if the CCN holder cannot or will not serve on your schedule?

You can petition for two kinds of release. They are expedited release and streamlined expedited release. Each ends with land removed from the CCN so another provider can serve it. Our post on evaluating wastewater utility options before closing covers the connect, build or wait decision around it.

Decertification under §13.254(a) is a third route, but not one you file. Its section title says the commission or the utility initiates it, and 16 TAC §24.245(d) has the PUC open a case on its own motion or at staff request, or the holder ask for one.

After notice and hearing, the PUC must find, for example, that the holder has never provided, is no longer providing, is incapable of providing, or has failed to provide continuous and adequate service.

Expedited release under §13.254(a-1) is for a tract of at least 50 acres not in a platted subdivision actually receiving service. You must show:

• a written service request to the holder stating the area, timeframe, level of service, the alternative provider's approximate cost, flows, pressures and fire protection needs;
• at least 90 days for the holder to respond;
• that the holder refused, cannot serve at the timeframe, level or cost an alternative provider can match, or conditions service on costs not properly allocable to your request;
• an alternative provider with the financial, managerial and technical capability to serve.

The PUC must grant the petition within 60 days of finding it administratively complete, unless it makes express findings against it, and the decision cannot be appealed.

Does streamlined release apply in West Houston?

Usually, outside the City of Houston's own CCN. Under §13.2541, the owner of a tract of at least 25 acres not receiving water or sewer service is entitled to release in a county of at least 1.2 million people or a county adjacent to one. Harris County counted 4,731,145 people in the 2020 census, so Harris and its neighbors, including Fort Bend and Waller, qualify.

The PUC must grant the petition within 60 days of filing. It may require compensation to the holder, set by an independent appraiser the petitioner pays for.

When is expedited release not available?

Inside a big city's own territory. Section 13.254(a-2) bars both expedited paths for land inside the City of Houston's limits or ETJ when the City or its own utility holds the certificate. The ETJ part of the bar reaches cities of more than 500,000 people, and Houston counted 2,304,580 people in 2020.

The same bar covers a platted subdivision actually receiving service. Land in Houston's ETJ under a private utility's or a water supply corporation's CCN is not caught by it.

Land caught by the bar keeps one right. Section 13.254(a-2) says the landowner "is entitled to contest under Subsection (a) the involuntary certification" of the property in a PUC hearing. That is a decertification case with no 60-day deadline, not a release petition.

What does release cost, and who serves the land afterward?

Line up the new provider before you file. Under §13.254(d), no utility may serve a decertified area until just and adequate compensation is paid. The appraiser weighs the holder's debt and facilities allocable to the area, its planning and design spending, contracts, lost future revenue and legal fees (§13.254(g)).

Once land is removed, §13.254(h) says the former holder cannot be required to serve it for any reason. If the alternative falls through, nobody is obligated to serve you.

Can a MUD or a private plant get around the CCN?

Not without consent or a release. A person that is not a retail utility may not build facilities serving more than one connection off its own property inside another utility's certificated area without that utility's written consent (§13.242(b)).

A municipal utility district that wants to serve inside an existing CCN needs to resolve the certificate. In the ETJ, Water Code §54.016 also requires the city's written consent before land is included in a district. Our MUD developer partnership page covers how that work is organized.

Annexation can change the answer later. Under §13.255, a city that annexes land can agree with the CCN holder on who serves, and without an agreement within 180 days of its written notice, it may apply for single certification.

What should you check before closing on a West Houston site?

Every answer below should be yes. Any no is open cost or schedule risk:

1. Have you identified the water and sewer CCN holders for the site in the PUC viewer?
2. Have you checked whether a MUD or other district already serves or includes the land?
3. Do you have a written capacity and terms answer from the holder?
4. Do you know whether the site is inside Houston's limits or ETJ, and who holds the CCN there?
5. If you may need release, is the tract at least 25 acres and not receiving service?
6. Have you identified an alternative provider able to serve, and priced compensation?

This is general education on Texas Water Code Chapters 13 and 54 as published in October 2026, not legal advice. The PUC decides each petition, so work with a utility attorney and your engineer on any release or dispute.

Frequently asked questions

How do we confirm which CCN holder covers our West Houston site?

Search the PUC's Water and Sewer CCN Viewer by address, then download the official CCN data if you need the exact boundary in CAD or GIS. Ask PUC mapping staff if the viewer cannot place the property, and confirm with the provider in writing.

I'm buying 60 acres in Waller County under a water supply corporation's CCN, and it says it cannot serve for three years. Can I get the land released?

Possibly. Waller County is adjacent to Harris County, so a tract of 25 acres or more not receiving service can use streamlined release under §13.2541, with a 60-day grant deadline. Line up an alternative provider and budget for compensation first.

The CCN holder will serve us, but only if we pay for upgrades that also serve its other customers. Can we push back?

Some. Expedited release under §13.254(a-1) lists conditioning service on costs not properly allocable to your request as a ground for release. That gives you a documented position, even if you end up negotiating.

We're developing inside Houston's ETJ and the City of Houston holds the CCN. Can we petition for expedited release?

No. Section 13.254(a-2) bars expedited and streamlined release in that case. Your options are service from the city, an agreement, or contesting the certification in a PUC hearing under §13.254(a), which has no 60-day deadline.

Related resources

• CCN Territory Disputes in Collin County: What to Check Before Land Crosses a Water Provider Boundary
• Municipal Utility Districts in Houston Suburbs: When to Form One and When to Use a Developer-Owned Treatment Plant Instead
• What a Utility Feasibility Study Actually Tells You, and When to Get One
• Austin Water Service Extension Requests: Who Pays for Off Site Water, Wastewater, and Reclaimed Water Improvements?

Is your West Houston site inside someone else's CCN?

We confirm the CCN and district picture, document the service request and capacity question, and work beside your utility attorney on any release before you close.

We specialize in:

• Site feasibility and utility due diligence
• Water and sewer utility design
• Wastewater treatment plant design
• MUD and district engineering support
• Site civil and land development
• Construction administration

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas. Contact: (214) 833-6748 or mod-eng.com