Do water wells need to be disclosed?

Posted: July 7th, 2022

Yes, House Bill 1221 requires sellers of residential real estate to disclose whether any part of a property is in a groundwater conservation district (GCD) or subsidence district. The law affects all transfers taking place January 1, 2016 or later. Therefore, if you have prior knowledge of a water well on your property, it needs to be disclosed.

However, while this law officially incorporates groundwater as an important component of real property,  the law expressly states that it does not apply “unless the seller has actual knowledge on the date of the notice that the real property is located” in a GCD and does not “create any duty for any person to investigate to determine if the residential real property is located” in a GCD.

If you or your client intend to drill a new water well or operate an existing water well on newly acquired land in Tarrant County, the proposed and/or existing well is subject to NTGCD’s rules.