Groundwater in Kent County Is in GMA 6

Out here, the water under your land has no local landlord. Kent County falls inside Groundwater Management Area 6 (GMA 6), but as of the last review, no groundwater conservation district has been drawn over the county. In much of Texas, that kind of district is the local agency that makes you pull a permit before you drill and decides how much you can pump. Where one doesn't exist, the baseline state rules through TCEQ and the Texas Water Development Board are all that apply.

No district doesn't mean no rules. You still have to hire a licensed water-well driller, and that driller has to file a State Well Report with TCEQ logging where the well went in and what they hit. That report is the paper trail for the aquifer beneath you.

These boundaries aren't fixed. Districts get created, and existing ones get expanded, so it pays to do a quick check before the rig shows up. If a district has since taken in Kent County, you'd owe it a drilling permit on top of everything else. The Texas Water Development Board can tell you who, if anyone, covers your acreage at 512-463-7847.