Cornerstone Guide
Texas Reservoirs and Water-Supply Projects: What Landowners Should Know
The planning system, permits, off-channel reservoirs, unique-site designations, and the early signs a project is advancing.
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Land, Water & Development · Resource Center
Reservoirs & Water-Supply Projects
How Texas water projects move from planning to construction, which agencies decide, which records exist, and how landowners can follow the process.
Planning for the water Texas will need
Texas is planning for long-term population growth, drought risk, aging infrastructure, and changing demand for water. The strategies under consideration include new reservoirs: groundwater projects, pipelines, reuse, desalination, aquifer storage, changes to existing lake operations, and transfers of water between areas.
These projects may provide essential water for homes: farms, cities, businesses, and public services. They may also affect private property, roads: waterways, wildlife habitat, community growth, tax bases, and the future use of rural land.
This resource center explains how projects move from planning to construction, which records are available, which agencies make decisions, and how Texas residents can follow the process before the major decisions are complete.
Project status matters
The following terms are not interchangeable:
- Concept
- Recommended strategy
- Feasibility study
- Preliminary design
- Permit application
- Property acquisition
- Funded
- Final design
- Under construction
- Operational
A project listed in a regional or state water plan has not necessarily received the permits, land, financing, or approvals required for construction.
Guides in this resource center
Reservoirs & water-supply guides
Eight plain-language guides, from the statewide planning system down to two named projects and one industrial water request worth studying.
Water Sources
Where Does Your Water Come From in Texas?
Your water bill and your water source are usually two different things. How to trace your community’s supply to its origin.
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Reservoir Data
How to Read Texas Reservoir Levels
Percent full, conservation pool, flood pool, and elevation, what the numbers mean and how to avoid misreading them.
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Project Stages
How a Proposed Reservoir Moves From Planning to Construction
An eight-stage timeline from identified need to operation, plus a landowner warning-sign checklist.
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Project Profiles
Two Reservoir Projects to Watch: Allens Creek and Colorado County
Two real projects at two very different stages, with sponsors, status, and official sources for each.
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Supply Strategies
Beyond New Reservoirs: Other Texas Water-Supply Strategies
Groundwater, reuse, changed lake operations: aquifer storage, desalination, transfers, and conservation, each with its own footprint.
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Actionable Guide
How to Track a Texas Water Project
An eleven-step, records-based method: plans: permits, board agendas, federal notices, funding actions, and public-information requests.
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Case Study · Data Centers
Cedar Creek Reservoir and Data-Center Water Demand
What an early-stage Henderson County proposal shows about industrial water requests, and the questions every community should ask.
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Check Current Conditions
Check current Texas water conditions and projects
Reservoir levels, planning documents, permits, and public notices change. These official sources hold the current information.
Find Your Local Water Sources
Explore where your community’s water comes from, your planning region, projected needs, and recommended strategies.
Find where your community’s water comes fromStatewide Reservoir Levels
Current conservation storage for monitored Texas water-supply reservoirs, statewide and lake by lake.
View current statewide reservoir levelsRegional Water Planning
Texas’ 16 regional water-planning groups, meeting notices, plans, and how to find the group that covers your county.
Find your regional water-planning groupTexas State Water Plan
The statewide plan adopted every five years, including the Draft 2027 State Water Plan and its recommended strategies.
Review the State Water PlanTexas Water-Right Information
How surface-water rights are permitted and amended, with application records and public-notice information.
Search Texas water-right informationTWDB Project & Funding News
Official announcements about state water projects, financing programs, and board actions.
Follow TWDB project and funding announcementsFederal Regulatory Public Notices
The Corps’ Fort Worth District regulatory program for Texas, Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting and public notices.
Review federal regulatory public noticesTexas Public Records
How the Texas Public Information Act works and how any resident can request records from a governmental body.
Learn how to request public recordsSources & disclaimers
Primary sources for this resource center include the Texas Water Development Board (regional and state water planning, including the Draft 2027 State Water Plan, Phase I, April 16, 2026), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (surface-water rights), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District (federal Clean Water Act Section 404 review), and the official project pages of the Brazos River Authority and the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Texas Homestead Law provides general educational information. It does not provide legal, engineering, environmental, appraisal, tax, or financial advice. Project boundaries: permitting status, water levels, meeting dates, and public-comment deadlines can change. Confirm current information through the responsible agency and consult an appropriate licensed professional about a specific property or legal matter.
Last reviewed July 12, 2026. Project stages, plans, permits, and data may have changed since that date, verify with official sources before relying on this page.