Methodology
Texas Water Sources research methodology
The method keeps researchers close to official Texas records while preserving the limits of those records, the uncertainty of possible matches, and the decisions that still require authoritative or professional review.
Primary questionHow does Texas Water Sources organize public records without converting a candidate match into a property conclusion?
1. Separate the research subjects
Water source, well construction, groundwater-district coverage, surface-water authorization, title, ownership, and disclosure are related subjects, but they are not interchangeable conclusions. The method keeps each subject attached to the source capable of addressing it.
2. Prefer primary official sources
Guides route users to official agency, legislative, and district sources. The source name, direct link, attribution, and review date belong in the research trail. The public catalog remains deliberately bounded and is not represented as comprehensive statewide local coverage.
3. Treat matches as hypotheses
A nearby well, map point, district layer, recorded name, permit, or water-right record is a candidate. Testing a candidate requires comparing multiple identifiers and source documents with a legal description, survey, title material, seller information, or other reliable property evidence. Proximity alone does not establish association or ownership.
4. Preserve unresolved outcomes
“Not found,” “not searched,” “candidate match,” “near a boundary,” and “conflicting records” are useful outcomes. They are not silently converted to “No,” and the guided assistant does not select a Form 61-0 answer.
5. Preserve the source trail
Substantive guidance identifies the relevant official sources, retains direct links and review dates, and keeps source limitations visible. A summary does not replace the underlying agency or district record.
6. Use substantive update dates honestly
The displayed update date changes after a meaningful source, factual statement, limitation, or research-instruction change. Cosmetic edits do not reset it. When an official page changes, the current source is reopened and the source trail records the new access or review date.
7. Escalate the remaining decision
Material ambiguity moves to the official authority or the Texas professional appropriate to the issue. The current release does not determine ownership, issue a title opinion, decide compliance, or choose a disclosure response.
Source record
Official sources checked
Texas Water Development Board
TWDB Groundwater Database
Source: Texas Water Development Board Groundwater Database.ReviewedTexas Water Development Board
TWDB Submitted Drillers Reports
Source: Texas Water Development Board submitted driller report records.ReviewedTexas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQ Groundwater Conservation District Boundaries
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality groundwater-conservation-district boundary layer.ReviewedCoastal Bend Groundwater Conservation District
Coastal Bend Groundwater Conservation District
Source: Coastal Bend Groundwater Conservation District.ReviewedResearch boundary
What this page cannot establish
- Public records can be incomplete, historical, approximate, mislocated, or changed after the recorded access date.
- The method organizes evidence and uncertainty; it does not determine ownership, appurtenance, transferability, permitting, compliance, or disclosure answers.
- Material ambiguity remains unresolved until the relevant official source, property evidence, or qualified Texas professional addresses it.