Buying Land in Caldwell County, Texas

A split-district groundwater system, and the 2008 dispute that led to a 2011 legislative fix

Unlike a county covered by a single Groundwater Conservation District, Caldwell County is genuinely split between two: the Plum Creek Conservation District (PCCD), created in 1957 for flood control in the Plum Creek watershed across parts of Hays and Caldwell Counties and given groundwater management authority in 1989 (affirmed by district voters in 1993), covers most of Caldwell County. The Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District (GCUWCD), created by a TCEQ order on November 19, 1993, covers Gonzales County and the southeast portion of Caldwell County instead.

That split produced a real, documented jurisdictional conflict: in 2008, both PCCD and GCUWCD annexed overlapping portions of Caldwell County at the request of several landowners, creating overlapping and disputed district membership. The Texas Legislature stepped in with 2011 legislation requiring the affected landowners to choose a single district, which produced the district map used today. What this means for a buyer: which district actually governs a specific Caldwell County parcel is a real, checkable, and non-obvious question, especially near the boundary area affected by the 2008-2011 dispute. See the dedicated well-water page for what to check and who to call.

New flood maps, effective June 2026

Caldwell County went through a full FEMA flood-map revision cycle culminating in a final press release dated December 10, 2025, with the new maps becoming effective June 10, 2026. As part of that process, a FEMA compliance specialist worked directly with the county over the following months to update its own floodplain ordinance to match the new maps. Because that effective date has already passed as of this page's last review, confirm you're looking at the current post-June-2026 flood zone designation for any specific parcel -- an older map or a listing that references pre-2026 flood-zone status may no longer be accurate.

Septic permitting and the county Development Ordinance

Caldwell County's Department of Sanitation processes OSSF (septic) permit applications and maintenance-contract filings directly rather than routing them through a TCEQ regional office, based on the county's own posted septic application materials -- though this research could not independently confirm formal TCEQ authorized-agent status through TCEQ's own list, so confirm this directly with the county or TCEQ. The county's Development Ordinance, adopted August 13, 2018, folds OSSF review into the subdivision process: any subdivision proposing to use OSSFs for wastewater must submit a feasibility report meeting TCEQ's 30 TAC Chapter 285 standards along with county requirements, plus a certification from a licensed engineer or sanitarian that each lot can support its own system, before the county will approve the plat.