Texas Statutes
Subchapter D. Powers and Duties
Section 8509.0151. General Water Supply Powers

Sec. 8509.0151. GENERAL WATER SUPPLY POWERS. (a) The district, inside or outside its boundaries, may:
(1) develop, construct, or purchase a dam or reservoir;
(2) in order to preserve and protect the purity of the waters of the state and of the district and conserve and reclaim those waters for beneficial use by the district's inhabitants, provide any plant, work, facility, or appliance incident to or helpful or necessary to the collection, transportation, processing, disposal, or control of those waters for agricultural, municipal, domestic, oil field flooding, mining, or industrial purposes;
(3) construct or purchase any plant or other facility necessary or useful to:
(A) provide a source of water supply;
(B) store or process the water; or
(C) transport or distribute the water for irrigation, livestock raising, agricultural, municipal, domestic, or industrial purposes;
(4) impound, store, control, and conserve the storm and flood waters and the unappropriated flow waters, including the storm and flood waters and unappropriated flow waters of Palo Duro Creek and Horse Creek, by complying with Subchapters A-D, Chapter 11, and Subchapter B, Chapter 12, Water Code;
(5) acquire or construct a dam or any work, plant, or other facility necessary or useful to impound, process, or transport water to a municipality or other entity for municipal, agricultural, domestic, industrial, oil field flooding, or mining purposes; and
(6) develop or purchase additional sources of water, subject to Section 8509.0157.
(b) The district may acquire land inside or outside the district's boundaries and construct, lease, or otherwise acquire any work, plant, or other facility necessary or useful to:
(1) divert, further impound, or store water;
(2) process the water; or
(3) transport the water to a municipality or other entity for agricultural, municipal, domestic, industrial, oil field flooding, or mining purposes.
(c) The board shall determine the size of a dam and reservoir developed, constructed, or purchased under Subsection (a), taking into consideration probable future increases in water requirements. The size of the dam may not be limited by the amount of water the commission initially authorizes to be impounded by the dam.
(d) The district may lease or otherwise acquire rights in and to storage and storage capacity in any reservoir constructed or to be constructed by any person or from the United States.
Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021.