Groundwater Reduction Plans: What the Harris Galveston Subsidence District Requires Before You Drill a Well

Do I need the district's approval before drilling a well?

Yes, almost always. Under Rule 5.1 of the HGSD Rules as amended June 10, 2026, every new well must be registered by the owner, operator or driller before it is drilled. The only wells left out of registration are leachate, extraction, injection, monitoring and dewatering wells.

District staff make a preliminary call on whether the well is excluded or exempt and answer within five business days. If it is, drilling can start once the approved registration is in hand. Drilling any well without an approved registration on file is a violation of the rules for the owner, the operator and the driller.

If the well is not exempt, Rule 5.2(a) requires a permit before the well is drilled or operated. The well stays permitted until its plumbing and power are disconnected, the casing is capped, or the well is plugged under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation rules.

Which wells are exempt from the permit?

Very few wells on a development qualify. Rule 5.8(a) excludes a well with a casing diameter under five inches that serves only one single-family home on property with no available alternative water supply. A new well inside a platted subdivision where an alternative supply is available does not qualify and needs a permit.

Rule 5.8(b) also exempts windmills on wells of four inches nominal or less, and monitoring, leachate, extraction, injection and dewatering wells. Plan on a permit for an amenity, commercial or utility district well.

How much groundwater will a permit allow?

A share of total water demand, not a volume you choose. The district's Regulatory Plan, adopted January 9, 2013 and last amended April 14, 2021, limits groundwater by regulatory area:

• Area 1: no more than 10% of the permittee's annual total water demand
• Area 2: no more than 20%
• Area 3: no more than 20%, unless the permittee operates under a certified groundwater reduction plan
• Area 3 permittees under a certified plan: no more than 40% on permits issued from 2025, and no more than 20% on permits issued from 2035

Because the limit is a ratio, a well sized to carry the whole project is not a well permitted to carry it. The other 60% to 90% has to be an alternative water supply, which Rule 1.1(b) defines as metered water such as surface water, reuse water, treated effluent, desalinated seawater or water from a retail public utility.

What is a groundwater reduction plan, and does my site already have one?

It is a certified compliance plan, and many Harris County sites already sit inside one. Rule 1.1(n) defines it as a document created by a permittee and certified by the district that details the steps for meeting the reduction requirements of its regulatory area.

Much of the district is covered by regional water authorities that run these plans for the utility districts and well owners inside their boundaries. The North Harris County Regional Water Authority, for example, was created by a 1999 bill. It describes itself as the one entity with authority to negotiate wholesale drinking water for districts, small municipalities and permitted well owners within its boundaries.

Under Rule 5.2(h)(3), wells in a plan's aggregate permit are treated as compliant as long as the plan's alternative supply meets the requirement. Under Rule 5.2(h)(2), a new participant must also provide a water conservation plan until alternative water reaches it. If your tract is inside an authority's boundaries, call the authority before you call a driller.

What happens if groundwater use runs over the limit?

A disincentive permit fee applies to the overage, every year it continues. Rule 5.6(c) applies that fee, on top of the base permit fee, to withdrawals above the percentage set for the well's regulatory area. It is not charged on groundwater pumped under permits in, and in compliance with, a certified groundwater reduction plan.

Rule 5.6(d) offers a narrow way out. A permittee with no available alternative supply, outside the service area of every regional water supplier, may be exempted if the board approves a groundwater conservation plan, renewed at least every five years. That rarely describes a suburban development.

What if the lot is in a platted subdivision?

The answer turns on whether a retail utility can serve the lot. Rule 5.2(d) says the board shall grant a permit for a new well inside a platted subdivision if water service from a local retail public utility is not available to that lot.

If service is available, the board may still grant the permit, but only up to the regulatory plan's percentage: 10% in Area 1 and 20% in Areas 2 and 3.

What does the permit commit me to after the well is drilled?

Metering, reporting and renewal, for as long as the well is permitted. The obligations a developer hands to the future operator or utility district:

• A meter on every permitted well and at each alternative supply connection used for compliance (Rule 8.1), with narrow exceptions in Rule 8.2
• An annual groundwater pumpage report before January 31, listing groundwater produced and alternative water used (Rule 6.2(a))
• A permit term that ends one year from the end of the month of issuance unless the board sets another, never more than five years (Rule 5.2(e))
• Renewal after application and hearing, with no vested right and no automatic renewal

What should a developer check before counting on a well?

Six answers, in this order. If you cannot answer the first, second and fifth, you do not have a water plan yet.

1. Which regulatory area is the tract in?
2. Is the tract inside a regional water authority or a retail utility's service area, and is it covered by a certified groundwater reduction plan?
3. Is the well exempt, or does it need a permit? Either way, is it registered before drilling?
4. What is the project's total water demand, and what share may come from groundwater now and on permits issued from 2035?
5. Where does the alternative supply come from, and when does it reach the tract?
6. Who carries the meter, report and renewal obligations once the developer is gone?

Those answers belong in water supply due diligence before closing, alongside the wastewater path. For a project that will form a utility district, they also shape the developer and MUD partnership from the first bond application.

This is general education based on the HGSD Rules as amended June 10, 2026 and the Regulatory Plan as amended April 14, 2021. It covers Harris and Galveston Counties only. Fort Bend County has its own subsidence district and rules. Confirm your tract, area and plan coverage with the district before you rely on a well.

Frequently asked questions

Does a dewatering or monitoring well need an HGSD permit?

No. Rule 5.8(b) exempts monitoring and dewatering wells from the permit, and Rule 5.1 does not require them to be registered either.

How long does an HGSD well permit last?

Unless the board sets another term, one year from the last day of the month it was issued, and never more than five years. Renewal takes an application and a hearing, and a permit is not renewed if the well has not been drilled.

Can treated wastewater count toward the alternative supply?

Yes. Rule 1.1(b) lists reuse water and treated effluent as alternative water supply, as long as it is metered and meets the Regulatory Plan's requirements.

I'm developing a small subdivision in west Harris County with no water provider yet. Can we drill a well and skip surface water entirely?

Possibly for a while, but not without limits. If no retail utility can serve the lots, Rule 5.2(d) says the board shall grant a well permit. The regulatory area's percentage and the disincentive fee still apply, unless the well is in a compliant groundwater reduction plan. Check first whether your tract sits inside a regional water authority's boundaries.

I sit on the board of a north Harris County utility district that wants a new well for redundancy. Will it raise our allowed groundwater?

No. The allowance is a share of total water demand, and under a plan's aggregate permit the plan's alternative supply decides compliance. A new well adds capacity and reliability, not allowance. Register it and get it permitted before drilling.

Related resources

• Fort Bend Subsidence District vs. Harris Galveston: A Developer’s Guide to Houston’s Competing Groundwater Rulebooks
• San Jacinto River Authority Surface Water Conversion Contracts: What They Mean for a MUD’s Capital Plan
• Municipal Utility Districts in Houston Suburbs: When to Form One and When to Use a Developer-Owned Treatment Plant Instead
• When does a Texas development need a municipal utility district (MUD), and what comes before the TCEQ petition?

Counting on a well for a Harris or Galveston County project?

We map the regulatory area, plan coverage and alternative supply before you commit, then design the water system around the answer.

We specialize in:

• Water supply and wastewater due diligence
• Water system planning for utility districts
• Well and water plant design
• Water distribution and storage design
• Site civil engineering for land development
• Construction administration

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