The Brazoria County Groundwater Conservation District Oversees Water Wells

BCGCD runs well registration and groundwater permits across Brazoria County. A new well usually must be registered before it is drilled. This is true even when the planned use may not need a full permit. A well that is not exempt needs the right permit.

The short names for exemptions hide key limits. A home well serving up to four single-family homes must serve the same or next-door tracts.

Another exemption can cover a well that cannot pump more than 25,000 gallons a day on a tract over 10 acres. Its water can be used only for homes, livestock, or poultry. Farm-use wells and some special wells have their own rules.

An old exempt-use well may be registered by choice, so it may not have the same papers as a new well. On rural land, ask for the well log, registration, permit, pump facts, and water tests. Use the current district rules, not just the short list on its forms page.