Writer More and more drought-hardened Big Country counties are moving to conserve the valuable water that lies deep underground.
Underground water is called groundwater, as opposed to surface water in lakes and rivers.
In times past, whoever owned the land over the groundwater, or owned the rights to the underground water, could pump as much as they pleased, even if it caused their neighbor's well to go dry. Those voter-approved districts, which can levy taxes and are ruled by boards of directors, can limit how much water is removed from the ground, thus protecting aquifers and residents who depend on the resource. So far, only the Haskell-Knox Groundwater Conservation District and the Coke County Underground Water District exist in the area. But there are movements in 10 Big Country counties to establish groundwater districts or to join existing districts. Thirteen remain from the 1999 legislative session.