A Madison County Water Well Starts With METGCD

Madison County sits inside the Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District with Leon and Freestone counties. Under the district's 2026 rules, a new exempt well needs a certificate of registration before drilling begins. A new non-exempt well needs an approved drilling permit and an operating permit.

A well used solely for a home, livestock, poultry, or wildlife may be exempt from the operating permit if it cannot produce more than 35 gallons a minute. Exempt does not mean unregistered. That exemption also does not cover a well supplying a subdivision that requires plat approval.

Start with the district's forms, then call before hiring a driller if the well's use or pump size is not clear. METGCD lists its office in Room B22 at 101 W. Main in Madisonville. Its current rules took effect January 29, 2026, so check that page for later changes.

The rules also require district notice and authorization before an owner changes a well's use or place of use, alters its depth or pump, plugs it, or abandons it. On land with an older well, the paperwork follows what the well is and how it is used, not just the hole in the ground.