How to find water well reports in Texas

Texas keeps two separate collections of water well reports, divided by the year the well was drilled. Knowing which one to search, and what details to bring, is most of the work. This walkthrough follows the Texas Water Development Board's own instructions. For how well records work in other states, see how to find water well logs.

Before you start: gather two details

You need the drill date, or an approximate year, and the name of the property owner when the well was drilled. Well depth and the driller's name help too. If you don't know past owners, the county appraisal district's website may have deed records. TWDB: How to find a state of Texas well report [TWDB-HOWTO source note]

Which database has my Texas water well report?

Source: TWDB: How to find a state of Texas well report. TWDB's lookup page also describes the identifying details to gather and the split between the two record sets. TWDB: Locating a Water Well Report [TWDB-HOWTO source note] [TWDB-WR source note]

How do you search TWDB well reports (2003 and later)?

1. Enter the property's 911 street address in TWDB's Groundwater Data Viewer to zoom to the location.
2. Click the dot marking the well to see its information table.
3. Click the well report tracking number to open the report.
4. If the map doesn't find it, search the TWDB Submitted Drillers Reports database by owner, address, driller, county or drill date.

TWDB recommends a "less is more" approach to search terms: search "Congress" rather than "Congress Avenue," because the driller may have written "Congress Ave." TWDB: How to find a state of Texas well report [TWDB-HOWTO source note]

How do you use the TCEQ water well report viewer (before 2003)?

The TCEQ Water Well Report Viewer is a map-based locator of over 800,000 historical reports for Texas water wells. TCEQ: Water Well Report Viewer [TCEQ-VIEWER source note]

1. Enter the street address in the viewer's map search, then click on the map.
2. Choose "Plotted WW Reports (grid)" from the menu.
3. Click the link in the Grid Num column to download a PDF. Check the report box type: "Reports and standard size maps" holds well reports; "Oversized maps" holds maps only.
4. Compare each report with what you know: owner name, address, drill date, depth and proposed use.
5. If reports list a legal description instead of a street address, get the property's legal description from the county appraisal district.

Steps from TWDB: How to find a state of Texas well report. [TWDB-HOWTO source note]

What if you can't find a Texas well log?

• Groundwater conservation districts: some counties have a district that keeps well records. Districts are locally governed and manage groundwater supplies. TCEQ: Groundwater Conservation Districts
• Driller information: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation licenses water well drillers and pump installers. TDLR: Water Well Driller and/or Pump Installer License
• Ask TWDB: its instructions list an email contact for help locating well reports.

Using Texas well reports when buying land

If you're evaluating rural land in Texas, search the reports for nearby wells as well as the parcel itself. Depths, water levels and yields recorded around the property give you a realistic range to discuss with local drillers, and the drill dates show how current that information is. Note which groundwater conservation district covers the land, since districts are locally governed and their rules for new wells vary. TCEQ: Groundwater Conservation Districts Then follow the rest of the due-diligence steps in buying land without a well and check how deep a residential well should be. [TCEQ-GCD source note]

What a report tells you, and what it doesn't

A report records the well's location, depth, construction and what was found when it was drilled. It is a dated record, not proof of today's water level, yield or water quality. Read how to read a water well log to interpret the fields, and if you are evaluating land, see buying land without a well.