Guitar Holding Co. v. Hudspeth County Underground Water Conservation District No. 1

The Texas Water Code generally delegates the management and control of groundwater production and use to local groundwater conservation districts, vesting them with broad regulatory powers. Tex. WateR Code §§ 36.001-304. When exercising these powers to limit groundwater production, local districts may protect existing wells and production by continuing “historic or existing use” to the extent possible under its comprehensive management plan. Id. § 36.116(b). The scope of this “historic or existing use” exemption and the extent to which a district’s rules may operate to preserve such use are…