Texas Seller’s Water Disclosure: Who Has to Deliver It and What It Asks

If you’re listing a home in the Houston area, there’s a new form in your paperwork that didn’t exist a year ago. The seller’s water disclosure — TREC form 61-0, Seller’s Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights — became mandatory with the July 1, 2026 contract forms, and Paragraph 7I of the purchase contract now asks every seller to say whether the buyer has it, when they’ll get it, or why they don’t need it. The contract’s default is that you deliver it. You are excused only when all five statements in Paragraph 7I(3) are true for your property, and for a Cypress, Katy, or Houston subdivision home on MUD or city water with no well and no pond, they usually are.

The short version: You can skip the seller’s water disclosure only if all five exemption statements in Paragraph 7I(3) are true for your property — no well, no pond or tank, no TCEQ surface water right, no severed groundwater rights, and water from a named city, MUD, water supply corporation, or private water company. A typical home on MUD water in Bridgeland, Towne Lake, or Cinco Ranch clears all five. Acreage with a well, a stock tank, or a decorative pond does not, and neither does a subdivision home with a backyard koi pond or a rain barrel if you follow TREC’s suggestion to treat those as a pond or tank; those sellers deliver the form. Deliver it before the offer, with the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, and no water-disclosure termination right ever opens.

Why there’s a new water form in 2026

TREC 61-0 came out of the Sunset Advisory Commission’s special-purpose review of the Texas Real Estate Commission’s disclosure requirements, which directed TREC to give prospective buyers information about the groundwater and surface water rights attached to a property. TREC adopted the form on May 4, 2026, and it became mandatory on July 1, 2026 alongside the revised One to Four Family Residential Contract (form 20-19). You can see the form itself on the TREC 61-0 form page. I covered the whole set of July changes at overview level in what changed in the 2026 Texas contract; this post is the deep dive on the water piece, from the seller’s side of the table.

One difference from the Seller’s Disclosure Notice is worth knowing before anything else: no statute requires this form. The Seller’s Disclosure Notice comes from Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code; the water disclosure comes from the TREC contract itself, so it applies because you are using that contract. That also means being exempt from the Seller’s Disclosure Notice does not exempt you from this one. The tests are different, and TREC’s FAQ says one, both, or neither can be required on a given sale.

Before anything else, read the block printed in capitals at the top of the form, because it sets the weight of every answer you give:

“THIS NOTICE IS A DISCLOSURE OF SELLER’S KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER RIGHTS ON THE PROPERTY AS OF THE DATE SIGNED BY SELLER AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ANY INSPECTIONS OR WARRANTIES THE BUYER MAY WISH TO OBTAIN. IT IS NOT A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND BY SELLER OR SELLER’S AGENTS.”

That is the same footing as the Seller’s Disclosure Notice you already know: you are writing down what you know on the day you sign, and nothing more. Keep that sentence in mind when we get to filling it out.

Do you have to deliver the seller’s water disclosure? The five-part exemption

Paragraph 7I of the contract has three boxes, and only one gets checked. In practice the real estate buyer’s agent fills it in when writing the offer, based on what your listing shows. Box (1) says the buyer has already received the disclosure. Box (2) says the buyer hasn’t and the seller will deliver it within a stated number of days. Box (3) is the exemption, and it’s the box most Houston-area sellers are looking for. It applies only when every one of the following is true, quoted here exactly as the contract prints them:

• (a) Seller is not aware of a water well on the Property (in use or not in use);
• (b) Seller is not aware of a pond, lake, or water tank on the Property;
• (c) Seller is not aware of any certificate of adjudication, certified filing, or permit for surface water rights associated with the Property administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
• (d) Seller is not aware that any groundwater rights to the Property have been severed, sold, or leased in whole or in part; and
• (e) the Property receives water only from the following municipality (City), municipal utility district (MUD) or other special district, water supply corporation (WSC), or private water supply company (PWC): ________.

Item (e) is written for exactly the way most of northwest and west Houston gets its water. If you’re selling in Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Cinco Ranch, Coles Crossing, or almost any master-planned community in Cypress or Katy, your water comes from a municipal utility district, and in most cases there is no well, no pond, and nothing in the deed about groundwater rights. Item (d) turns on what you are aware of, so if you have never seen a groundwater reservation in your deed or your owner’s title policy, it is usually a clean “not aware.” You check box (3), write the MUD’s name on the blank line, and the water disclosure never enters your transaction. “Other special district” in item (e) matters here too: a water control and improvement district (WCID), a fresh water supply district (FWSD), or a special utility district counts the same as a MUD, so write that district’s name on the line. Write the district that sells you the water, not the operator company printed on the bill (Inframark, EDP, and the like) and not the regional water authority fee line. If you’re inside the Houston city limits on city water, the same logic applies with “City of Houston” on the line. The district name is on your water bill; if you’re not sure which MUD you’re in, my MUD explainer walks through how to look it up.

Any single one of these puts you back on the form:

• An old well, even a capped one. Item (a) says “in use or not in use.” Older acreage lots in Hockley, Tomball, Magnolia, and Crosby often have a well that was plugged years ago when a water line finally reached the property. If you know it’s there, you’re not exempt.
• A pond, stock tank, or decorative pond. Item (b) has no size threshold. A one-acre Waller County tract with a stock tank, or a Needville homesite with a landscaped pond, is out of the exemption on that fact alone, whether or not there’s water in it today.
• Severed or leased groundwater rights. Item (d) is the one sellers overlook. Groundwater in Texas belongs to the surface owner unless it has been severed, much like minerals, and on rural tracts that severance can sit in the deed chain from a prior owner. A leased right to pump for a neighbor’s use counts too.
• A TCEQ surface water right. Item (c) is rare on residential property, but a tract on a creek or bayou with a permit to divert or impound water carries one.
• Water from anything other than the listed sources. A shared well with a neighbor, or a well on another parcel that serves your house, fails item (e) even if you’d never call it “your” well.

If one of those describes your property, you’re delivering the form. That is not a mark against the house. It simply means the buyer is entitled to know what you know about the water.

One thing that is not on the list: whether your property sits inside a Groundwater District. Every home in Harris County is inside the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District by statute, and I’ve had sellers assume that alone puts them on the form. TREC answered that question directly in its August 2026 FAQ on the water disclosure:

“Regardless of whether a property is located within a groundwater conservation or subsidence district, a seller would not be required to provide the disclosure if all of the statements listed in Paragraph 7I(3) are true. This is true even though the disclosure itself specifically asks about groundwater districts, including groundwater conservation districts and subsidence districts.”

The same FAQ settles edge cases that come up on Houston-area listings. A lake that borders the property is not a lake on the property, so a waterfront lot in Towne Lake or Cinco Ranch does not fail item (b) on that basis, as long as your lot line stops at the water’s edge; your survey shows where it ends, and a detention pond on an HOA or MUD reserve behind your fence works the same way. A creek or river running through the property, seasonal or otherwise, is not one of the five tests and does not trigger the form by itself. And because neither the contract nor the form defines “pond” or “water tank,” TREC says the best practice for a doubtful feature such as a koi pond or a rain barrel may be to assume it counts. TREC also says its Broker-Lawyer Committee plans to review the meaning of “water tank,” whether a “stream” belongs in the exemption language, and what it means to “receive” water; changes are likely at some point, though TREC does not expect them immediately.

What the seller’s water disclosure actually asks

The form is two pages. Two of its five opening definitions matter more than the rest for a Houston seller. “Groundwater District” is defined as a groundwater conservation district, an underground water conservation district, a Subsidence District, or any other special district or authority that regulates the drilling or operation of water wells. That word “subsidence” is why the next section of this post exists. “Surface Water Rights” means a permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that authorizes diverting, impounding, or using surface water. The other three definitions cover “Groundwater,” “Surface Water,” and “Water Well.” The Groundwater and Water Well definitions carry notes, and the Groundwater note is the one to remember, because it says groundwater is owned by the surface landowner unless it has been severed.

Section 2 is about groundwater and wells, and it reads like this in plain terms:

• 2A — Is any portion of the property in a Groundwater District? Yes, No, or Unknown, plus the district’s name and website.
• 2B — Is the seller aware of any water wells? If yes: how many, how many are in use, how many are capped, plugged, or abandoned, and any district registration or permit numbers.
• 2C — Are those wells owned and operated solely by the seller for this property, or does someone else own, operate, or benefit from them under an agreement?
• 2D and 2E — Does the property get water from a well on another property, or does a well here rely on groundwater rights owned or leased from land outside the boundaries? Utility service doesn’t count; a shared or neighbor’s well does.
• 2F — Have any groundwater rights been severed, sold, or leased, in whole or in part?

Section 3 is surface water. 3A asks whether the seller owns any Surface Water Right associated with the property and, if so, its permit, filing, or certificate of adjudication number and who else owns an interest. 3B is one question: “Is there a pond, lake, or water tank on the Property, whether currently with or without water?”

The form closes with five Notices to Buyer and Seller. Notice (2) says the seller may not have complete knowledge or understanding of the water rights. Notice (3) says water rights that relate to the property may be held by others, and that anyone trying to determine them should consult an attorney who can examine the title. Notice (4) says that groundwater districts’ rules differ from district to district and that some have ad valorem taxing authority and others do not, with a pointer to the local appraisal district for rates. Notice (1) reminds everyone that the law here is complex, and Notice (5) says that if the parties intend to reserve, except, or separately convey water rights, each should consult an attorney before signing a binding contract.

The Houston answer to question 2A: you’re probably in a Groundwater District

This is the part of the seller’s water disclosure that surprises people who have never owned a well. Because the form’s definition of “Groundwater District” includes a Subsidence District, a Houston seller’s honest answer to 2A is often “Yes” even with no well on the lot and no intention of ever drilling one.

The Harris-Galveston Subsidence District was created by the Legislature in 1975 to regulate groundwater withdrawal, and its territory is all of Harris County and Galveston County (Special District Local Laws Code §8801.005). It runs a well-permitting process, though a well with a casing under five inches that serves a single-family home is exempt from the permit requirement under §8801.152. The Fort Bend Subsidence District covers all of Fort Bend County and also permits water wells. Montgomery County sits in the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, and Waller County is inside the Bluebonnet Groundwater Conservation District, which also serves Austin, Grimes, and Walker counties. All four regulate the drilling or operation of water wells, which is the form’s test. When you do have to fill out the form, the county on your property tax statement decides what goes on the 2A line. Harris County, including Copperfield and the Harris County side of Katy: the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, hgsubsidence.org. Fort Bend County, including most of Cinco Ranch: the Fort Bend Subsidence District, fbsubsidence.org. Montgomery County, including Magnolia: Lone Star, lonestargcd.org. Waller County, including Hempstead, Waller, and the Waller County sides of Katy and Hockley: Bluebonnet, bluebonnetgroundwater.org.

If the district ever permitted or registered a well on your property, its number belongs in 2B(4), and the district’s own well records are the place to confirm it. Many residential wells never needed a district permit, so if yours has no number, say so on 2B(4) rather than leaving it blank; the Texas Water Development Board also keeps a statewide groundwater well database searchable by county. Notice (4)’s point about taxing authority applies in some districts and not others, and a buyer who asks about it should be sent to the appraisal district for the answer.

What Paragraph 7I does to your contract if the buyer doesn’t have the form

Paragraph 7I puts the timing risk on the seller. If box (2) is the box in the final contract, you are promising to deliver the disclosure within the number of days written in the blank. The contract then says this, word for word:

“If Buyer does not receive the Seller’s Water Disclosure, Buyer may terminate this contract at any time prior to the closing and the earnest money will be refunded to Buyer. If Seller delivers the Seller’s Water Disclosure, Buyer may terminate this contract for any reason within 7 days after Buyer receives the Seller’s Water Disclosure or prior to the closing, whichever first occurs, and the earnest money will be refunded to Buyer.”

Reading that from the seller’s side: if the form never arrives, the buyer holds an open exit all the way to closing, with the earnest money coming back to them. And whenever you do deliver it under box (2), on time or late, the buyer gets a fresh 7-day window from the day they receive it to walk away for any reason at all, entirely separate from the option period, with the earnest money refunded. Delivering promptly does not shorten that window; it only starts it sooner. A buyer who has cooled on the house, or found a better one, does not have to point to anything on the form to use that window.

The mechanism is identical to Paragraph 7B for the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, which I wrote about from the buyer’s side in the buyer’s right to terminate when the disclosure is late. The seller’s takeaway is the mirror image: don’t let box (2) be the box that survives negotiation. Complete the water disclosure when you complete the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, attach both to the listing, and the real estate buyer’s agent checks box (1) in the offer. If an offer still arrives with box (2) checked, TREC’s FAQ describes the fix: counter with box (1) and deliver the form with the counter, or, if all five exemption facts are true, counter with box (3) and fill in your water provider. Either way the final contract carries no delivery deadline and no 7-day window. If you’re selling without a broker, the water disclosure is one more item in the paperwork stack I listed in what a Texas seller carries alone, and it’s an easy one to forget because it’s new.

One boundary to know: the water disclosure requirement lives in the resale, new-home, unimproved, and farm and ranch contracts. It does not apply to the Residential Condominium Contract, so a condo seller in Houston won’t see Paragraph 7I at all.

How to fill out the water disclosure without creating liability

Answer from what you know. The form is a disclosure of your knowledge as of the date you sign, and Notice (2) says outright that you may not have complete knowledge. You are not being asked to hire a hydrologist or search the county’s well records. Where an answer takes two minutes to confirm, though, confirm it: for the five counties above, 2A is “Yes.” “Unknown” is on the form for a seller who cannot confirm a district, and it is a better answer than a guess.

On any property that isn’t a straightforward MUD-water subdivision home, I’d still check the paperwork before signing. Pull the deed and, once you have one, the title commitment, and look for any reservation or conveyance of groundwater rights; that’s where item (d) of the exemption and question 2F get answered. If there is a well, find whatever paperwork came with the house when you bought it — a driller’s log, a district registration, a permit letter — because 2B(4) asks for the numbers. And if you intend to keep any water right when you sell, or to sell it separately, stop and talk with a Texas real estate attorney before you sign a contract, which is exactly what Notice (5) tells both sides to do. Water rights are a title question. Your title commitment shows what is of record, and a Texas real estate attorney can tell you what it means.

For the buyer’s side of a well property, the form is clear that it is not a substitute for inspections. If I’m representing the buyer on acreage with a well, we get the well inspected and the water tested during the option period, and we read the water disclosure alongside the flood questions on the Seller’s Disclosure Notice, which I covered in how to read Houston’s flood disclosure questions. The two forms together tell a buyer most of what there is to know about water on the property.

How I handle the seller’s water disclosure on a listing

On every listing I take, the water disclosure gets settled with the rest of the seller’s paperwork before the sign goes in the yard. For a subdivision home on MUD or city water, that means confirming the five exemption facts with the seller and recording the district name for the (e) line. For acreage, or any property with a well, a pond, or a tank, it means walking the seller through the two pages, pulling the deed language on water rights, and attaching the completed form to the MLS listing, where the buyer signs its buyer line with the offer so receipt is on paper. If you’re preparing to sell anywhere in Greater Houston, the selling page lays out how the rest of that process works with me.

Seller’s water disclosure: common questions

Do I have to give the water disclosure if I’m on MUD water?
Usually not. A MUD, or another special district such as a WCID or FWSD, is one of the water sources named in the Paragraph 7I(3) exemption. If you also have no well on the property (in use or not), no pond, lake, or water tank, no TCEQ surface water right, and no groundwater rights that have been severed, sold, or leased, you check box (3) in the contract, write the MUD’s name on the line, and the form is not required. If any one of those five is not true, you deliver the form even though you’re on MUD water. Being inside a subsidence or groundwater conservation district does not change the answer; TREC’s FAQ says so directly.

What if I don’t know whether I’m in a groundwater district?
If your property is in Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, Montgomery, or Waller County, the answer is Yes: all of Harris and Galveston counties are in the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, all of Fort Bend County is in the Fort Bend Subsidence District, Montgomery County is in the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, and Waller County is in the Bluebonnet Groundwater Conservation District. Each district’s website has its boundary map. “Unknown” is on the form for a seller elsewhere who cannot confirm it.

Does a capped or abandoned well still count?
Yes. The exemption in Paragraph 7I(3)(a) says “in use or not in use,” and question 2B on the form asks separately for the number of wells that have been capped, covered, plugged, or abandoned. If you know an old well is there, you are not exempt and you disclose it.

What happens if I deliver the water disclosure after the contract is signed?
Any delivery under box (2), on time or late, gives the buyer the right under Paragraph 7I(2) to terminate for any reason within 7 days after receiving it, or before closing if that comes first, and the earnest money is refunded. If the buyer never receives it, they may terminate at any time before closing. Delivering the form with your Seller’s Disclosure Notice before the offer is written avoids both outcomes.

Is the water disclosure a warranty about the water?
No. The form states in capitals that it is a disclosure of the seller’s knowledge as of the date signed, that it is not a substitute for inspections or warranties the buyer may want, and that it is not a warranty of any kind by the seller or the real estate listing agent. A buyer who wants assurance about a well gets a well inspection and a water test.

Last updated: September 2026 · Form language quoted from TREC No. 61-0 (TXR 1425) and Paragraph 7I of TREC No. 20-19, both adopted May 4, 2026 and mandatory for Texas license holders beginning July 1, 2026; exemption guidance from TREC’s August 14, 2026 FAQ on the disclosure. This is general information about the contract forms, not legal advice — water rights are a title matter, so for a specific property talk with your title company or a Texas real estate attorney.

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