Coastal Bend towns and the well rules that apply to them

Two layers of rules apply to a water well here. The state layer, run by TDLR, applies everywhere: licensed drillers, minimum distances from contamination, and a well report for every well. On top of that, some areas have a groundwater conservation district with its own registration, permits and fees. The Texas Water Development Board keeps a statewide map of districts. Below is what we found for each part of the Coastal Bend, and where the sources run out we say so.

District in place

Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff, Calallen and Padre Island

The Corpus Christi Aquifer Storage and Recovery District covers most of the city limits, according to the city's statement of May 16, 2025. In that statement:

exempt wells, such as household wells used for landscape watering or for livestock and poultry, must be registered, and there is no cost to register;
non-exempt wells, such as commercial or large-scale agricultural wells, must be permitted;
registration and permits apply year-round, whatever the drought stage;
during drought stages, registered owners get a certificate that must be posted near the well for code enforcement inspections.

The statement says “most” of the city limits, so a lot near the edge of town is worth checking with the district before drilling.

No district found

Robstown and the rest of Nueces County

The statewide district map from the Texas Water Development Board shows no groundwater conservation district for the parts of Nueces County outside the Corpus Christi district. KRIS 6 News reported that on September 2, 2025 local residents petitioned TCEQ to create the county's first groundwater district, and that any district would also need a vote by people living inside it. We could not find the outcome as of October 21, 2026. State TDLR rules apply regardless.

The City of Corpus Christi said in June 2026 that it is drilling additional wells along the Nueces River and in Nueces County, and that it runs a Well Assistance Program for nearby well owners. If you are near the city's wellfields, ask about it.

District in place

Portland, Sinton, Taft, Odem, Gregory, Ingleside and Mathis

These towns are in San Patricio County, covered by the San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District, with its office in Sinton (dated May 12, 2007 on the TWDB district map). Its rulebook, in the 2012 version held by TWDB, says:

all wells in the district must be registered, including small ones;
a well able to produce less than 25,000 gallons a day is “exempt” from permits, meters and usage reporting, but still registered;
a permit is needed before drilling a well that could produce more than that;
at the time, a new exempt well carried a $20 one-time registration fee plus a $30 deposit returned when the well log and an estimate of production reach the district.

Those fees are from 2012. Ask the district for its current figures.

Depends on the lot

Aransas Pass

Aransas Pass straddles San Patricio, Aransas and Nueces counties. A lot on the San Patricio side falls under the San Patricio district above; the rest follows the Aransas County or Nueces County notes on this page. The county appraisal record for the property tells you which county it sits in.

Status not confirmed

Rockport and Fulton (Aransas County)

The Legislature created an Aransas County Groundwater Conservation District in 2015 (Special District Local Laws Code ch. 8823), on condition that voters confirm it; the law says that if creation was not confirmed before September 1, 2019, the district is dissolved. The TWDB statewide map shows no district for Aransas County. We could not confirm from public sources whether the district exists today, so check with Aransas County before drilling.

Partly covered

Kingsville and Kleberg County

A 2005 Legislative Budget Board note on a Kleberg County district bill says much of western and eastern Kleberg County lies in the Kenedy County Groundwater Conservation District, while the central part, home to about 98 percent of the county's people, did not. A separate Kleberg district was proposed then; the TWDB map shows no district named for Kleberg County. If your land is outside Kingsville, ask the Kenedy County district whether it is inside their boundary.

Everywhere: the state rules

Only a TDLR-licensed driller may drill, and only a licensed installer or driller may set a pump.
Minimum distances from contamination sources apply (see planning a new well).
Every new well gets a State of Texas Well Report; every plugged well gets a plugging report within 30 days.

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Tell us the location and the job. We pass that one inquiry to a single local driller whose Texas license we have looked up, and they get back to you themselves.

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Where these facts come from

Checked October 21, 2026.