Groundwater official warns Polk County is "water rich" and a future target for exporters
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Summary
The Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District told Polk County commissioners the county currently has abundant groundwater but faces future pressure from growth and potential export; the district plans subsidence monitoring and urged legislative attention and impact monitoring for data-center proposals.
Gary, representing the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, told the Polk County Commissioners Court on March 24 that the district remains relatively well supplied but could become a target for water export as nearby counties grow.
"We call this water rich," Gary said, describing shallow access to the Gulf Coast Aquifer in Polk and neighboring San Jacinto counties and noting private wells in the two counties rose from about 5,000 to 7,400 over the last decade. He said commercial pumping increased from roughly 3.3 million gallons a year a decade ago to about 4.5 million gallons by the end of 2025.
The presentation placed local use in a broader Texas context: Houston and Montgomery counties are forecasting substantial population increases, and some large-scale water users and private equity proposals have sought permits to ship very large volumes of water. Gary said the district has never exceeded 30% of the state's planning limit in his 14 years on the job, but he urged vigilance.
The district outlined near-term actions including submitting Desired Future Conditions projections through the Texas Water Board process and installing additional subsidence-monitoring stations across Polk County under a pending Texas Water Development Board grant. Gary said the monitoring will include GPS stations and increased sampling to detect land compression and trends tied to neighboring county development.
Commissioners asked how aquifer levels have changed; Gary described longstanding manual measurement methods and said annual variation has been roughly ±2 percent but that statewide groundwater conditions have trended downward, particularly in the Panhandle. He also noted data centers can be heavy water users when they include large cooling systems: "If we were to get data centers... they use a lot of water," he said, but added Polk County currently lacks the power and backbone infrastructure that typically attracts those facilities.
Why it matters: Polk County officials face trade-offs between potential revenue from large industrial users and risks to long-term water availability and land stability. The district's planned monitoring and the court's request for legislative attention create next steps for county staff and allied agencies.
The court received the informational report and asked staff to include the district's materials in future planning discussions; no formal action was taken beyond asking staff to circulate the district's packet and monitoring plan.
