A yearslong dispute over exporting water to growing Texas cities offers a hint at the battles to come as the state’s population booms and water supply dwindles.
Belding Farms General Manager Zachary Swick poses for a portrait at the farm on Sept. 23, 2024, in Fort Stockton. The farm’s dispute over exporting water comes as the state’s population booms and water supply dwindles.— a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.
Midland is the capital of the Permian Basin, a 61-county region that holds the state’s vast oil reserves. Over the last decade, Midland has added 10,000 people. About 138,000 people call it home. And more are expected as the oil industry shows no signs of slowing. The Cockrell family began planting pecan trees in the 1960s. Today, about 40 employees work year-round to tend to the farm, from the orchard manager and foremen to mechanics.
Swick said that he and the farm try to be proactive in conserving water because a dry spell could result in a crisis for the farm and the surrounding community. A particular concern is the wells, Swick said, which are not able to pump water if the aquifers are below a certain threshold. In 2017, Fort Stockton Holdings and the groundwater district reached an agreement to allow the holding company to pump and sell 28,400 acre-feet of water. That’s when Belding Farms sued the groundwater district, which controls the permits for export agreements like the one between Fort Stockton Holding and the other cities.
“When you’re giving big chunks of the pie, it's like you have to keep giving big chunks of that pie out because if you start telling people no, you’re going to get sued,” said Robert Mace, executive director at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. “That’s a case the district’s probably going to lose.”
Three pools of water flow underneath the soil in Fort Stockton, a geographically unique makeup that isn’t common in Texas. The Edwards Trinity aquifer is closest to the surface. The Rustler aquifer is below it. The Capitan Reef Complex aquifer is the deepest one. Fort Stockton Holdings’ deal with the cities will add 24,800 acre-feet more pumping annually. Edwards said that the groundwater district evaluated pumping levels over the years and determined that the impact on the aquifer would not be a risk. He said the monitoring mechanisms are protective of the aquifer.
Opposite the TV, the Cockrell family’s attorney, Ryan Reed, sat in a folding chair. Behind him sat Carlos Rubenstein, a former commissioner for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, erstwhile chair and board member of the Texas Water Development Board, now a consultant for the family and farm.
Texas Politics Texas Policy Texas Government Economy Edwards Aquifer Environment Groundwater Texas Legislature Water Supply Texas Water Development Board West Texas
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