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Priority Groundwater Management Areas

Program to identify areas of Texas experiencing, or expected to experience, critical groundwater problems and encourage the creation of Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) for those areas. Relevant reports, studies, maps, and rules.

PGMA Information

To enable effective management of the state's groundwater resources in areas where critical groundwater problems exist or may exist in the future, the Legislature has authorized TCEQ, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)  , and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)   to study, identify, and delineate Priority Groundwater Management Areas (PGMAs) and initiate the creation of GCDs within those areas, if necessary.

What is a PGMA ?

A Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA) is an area designated and delineated by TCEQ that is experiencing, or is expected to experience, within 50 years, critical groundwater problems including shortages of surface water or groundwater, land subsidence resulting from groundwater withdrawal, or contamination of groundwater supplies.

Since the ultimate purpose of designating a PGMA is to ensure the management of groundwater in areas of the state with critical groundwater problems, a PGMA evaluation will consider the need for creating Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs, or "districts") and the different options for doing so. Such districts are authorized to adopt policies, plans, and rules that can address critical groundwater problems.

If a study area is designated as a PGMA, TCEQ will make a specific recommendation on GCD creation. State law authorizes the citizens in the PGMA two years to establish a GCD. However, if local action is not taken in this time frame, TCEQ is required to establish a GCD that is consistent with the original recommendation. Under either scenario, the resultant GCD would be governed by a locally elected board of directors.

For more information about PGMAs, see Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service publication B-6191, Priority Groundwater Management Areas: Overview and Frequently Asked Questions . A hard copy or free electronic download of this publication is available after setting up an account.

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Rules

The PGMA process provided in Chapter 35 of the Texas Water Code (TWC) is implemented by TCEQ rules that outline procedures for the designation of PGMAs and address issues related to the creation of GCDs in areas which have been designated as PGMAs. These TCEQ rules are contained in Title 30, Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §293.19 and §§294.41–294.44. The rules were amended in August 2012 to implement statutory changes made by the 82nd Legislature, 2011.

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Legislative Reports (Since 1997)

Published every other year prior to the start of each legislative session, this report provides information to the executive and legislative leadership on activities undertaken during the preceding two years relating to the creation of Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs, or districts), the study and designation of Priority Groundwater Management Areas (PGMAs), and the operation of GCDs. This report is prepared by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ, or Commission) and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) in order to fulfill the requirements of Texas Water Code (TWC), Section 35.018. Each of these reports is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF DocumentPDF format. (Help with PDF.)

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Studies, Study Areas, and Designated PGMAs

As of July 2009, 18 PGMA studies and five PGMA update studies have been completed. Eight study areas were determined to have, or were expected to have, critical groundwater problems and were designated as PGMAs:

  • Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, and parts of Comal, Hays, and Travis counties — the Hill Country PGMA;
  • Parts of Reagan, Upton, and Midland counties — the Reagan, Upton, and Midland Counties PGMA;
  • Swisher and parts of Briscoe and Hale counties — the Briscoe, Hale, and Swisher Counties PGMA;
  • Parts of Dallam County — the Dallam County PGMA;
  • Parts of El Paso County — the El Paso County PGMA;
  • Northern Bexar County — added to the Hill Country PGMA;
  • Bosque, Coryell, Hill, McLennan, and Somervell counties — the Central Texas – Trinity Aquifer – PGMA; and,
  • Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties — the North-Central Texas – Trinity and Woodbine Aquifers – PGMA.

Ten study areas were determined not to be PGMAs:

  • Lower Rio Grande Valley Area;
  • Fort Bend County Area;
  • Orange-Jefferson Counties Area;
  • Wintergarden Area;
  • Southernmost High Plains Area;
  • North Texas Alluvium and Paleozoic Outcrop Area;
  • Hudspeth County Area;
  • Williamson and Parts of Adjacent Areas;
  • East Texas Area; and,
  • Trans-Pecos Area.

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PGMA Reports (Since 2004)

Each of these reports is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF DocumentPDF format. (Help with PDF.)

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GCD Recommendation Reports (Since 2008)

Each of these reports is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF DocumentPDF format. (Help with PDF.)

  • Dallam County Priority Groundwater Management Area: December 2008. The report and petition recommended that identified areas of the Dallam County PGMA be added to an existing GCD. On February 17, 2010, the Commission issued an Order recommending that all of the three areas that were not included in a GCD in the Dallam County PGMA be added to the North Plains GCD. In March 2012, the 2012 Addendum recommended that identified areas of the Dallam County PGMA be added to an existing GCD. On August 7, 2012, the Commission issued an Order adding the Dallam County PGMA areas to the North Plains GCD.
  • Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area: July 2010. The report and petition identified that the northwestern Comal County and southwestern Travis County portions of the PGMA were not in a groundwater conservation district. The report included a primary recommendation for Commission action to create a new three-county GCD to include the PGMA portions of Comal, Hays and Travis counties, and an alternative recommendation for Commission action to add the Comal PGMA territory to the Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District and the Travis PGMA territory to the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District. The Executive Director filed the petition with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) in October 2010 and withdrew the primary recommendation and advanced the alternative recommendation in November 2010. The SOAH hearing was abated from May 2011 to June 2013. The Executive Director filed a request with SOAH on January 7, 2014 to withdraw the petition, cancel the hearing, and remand the petition back to the Executive Director. The administrative law judges granted the Executive Director’s request on January 27, 2014.
  • Briscoe, Hale, and Swisher County Priority Groundwater Management Area : September 2013. The report identified the western portion of Briscoe County in the Briscoe, Hale, and Swisher County PGMA that is not currently part of a GCD. The report recommended that the area be added to the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District #1 (HPUWCD) as the most feasible, practicable, and economic means to achieve groundwater management in the Briscoe, Hale, and Swisher County PGMA. A preliminary hearing was held by the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) in Silverton, Texas on December 3, 2013. The SOAH judge took jurisdiction and determined the interested parties. A hearing on the merits was held by SOAH in Silverton, Texas on April 8, 2014. The SOAH judge filed a Proposal for Decision with the Commission on July 11, 2014. On December 12, 2014, the Commission approved an Order recommending the western portion of Briscoe County in the Briscoe, Hale, and Swisher County PGMA be added to the HPUWCD. The HPUWCD board of directors voted not to add the Briscoe PGMA on March 13, 2015.
  • Reagan, Upton, and Midland County Priority Groundwater Management Area: February 2017. The report identified an area in northeastern Upton County and southeastern Midland County, in the Reagan, Upton, and Midland Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA), that is not within a Groundwater Conservation District (GCD). The report evaluated five options for groundwater management and recommended the option to add northeastern Upton County and southeastern Midland County to Glasscock GCD as the most feasible, practicable, and economic means to achieve groundwater management in the Reagan, Upton, and Midland PGMA.

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GCDs Created in Designated PGMAs

Locally-initiated GCD (or "district") creation, or addition of territory to an existing district, has occurred in six of the designated PGMAs. Areas remain in four PGMAs that have not yet established a GCD. Successful district creation has not occurred in the designated parts of Briscoe, Dallas, Midland, and Upton counties.

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