Well Water in Castro County, Texas

HPWD: permitting mechanics that actually apply here

The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (HPWD), covering Castro County and 15 other Panhandle and South Plains counties (16 total, CORRECTED 2026-09 from an earlier undercount that predated Swisher County's addition), requires a permit before drilling or producing from any well expected to produce 17.5 gallons per minute or more; smaller wells are exempt from permitting. A new non-exempt well must also meet the district's spacing rules, which set a minimum distance from the nearest existing well and from property lines, scaled to the new well's expected production -- a higher-capacity irrigation well needs more separation than a smaller one. The district charges a non-refundable $250 fee per well permit application, and drilling cannot legally begin until the district manager or the board approves the permit.

Beyond drilling, HPWD caps annual production for non-exempt wells at an Allowable Production Rate of 1.50 acre-feet per contiguous acre per year (equivalent to about 18 inches of water applied across that acreage). For an irrigated farm, that cap is directly relevant to crop planning and to the long-term value of the land's water rights -- a buyer should confirm a specific tract's permitted acreage and current production history with HPWD directly rather than assuming unlimited pumping capacity.

Castro County's aquifer, measured -- not estimated

HPWD's own monitoring network measures the Ogallala Aquifer's saturated thickness (the vertical extent of water-bearing formation available to a well) at wells across its service area, and its 2022 reporting put Castro County's saturated thickness at approximately 53 feet -- a real, county-specific figure rather than a regional average. Saturated thickness matters directly to a buyer: a shallower remaining column of water generally means a well produces less over time and requires more frequent redrilling or deepening, which shows up in both farming costs and land value for irrigated acreage.

This regional aquifer has been declining for decades under sustained irrigation pumping across the wider High Plains, with published estimates in nearby areas showing 1 to 3 feet of annual decline in parts of the region. HPWD's rules, including the Allowable Production Rate above, exist specifically to slow that decline while preserving irrigated agriculture's viability -- but they manage a shrinking resource, not an unlimited one. A specific parcel's current saturated thickness, existing well yield history, and any HPWD-permitted production allocation are all worth confirming directly with the district before valuing land here on the assumption that today's irrigation capacity will hold indefinitely.

What to check before buying irrigated or well-dependent land here

1. Ask HPWD directly for the current saturated thickness and water-level trend at or near the specific parcel, not just a county-wide average -- conditions vary within Castro County.
2. Confirm whether an existing well on the property has an active HPWD permit, what its permitted Allowable Production Rate allocation is, and whether that allocation transfers with the land at sale.
3. For a new well, budget for HPWD's permit application, the district's well-spacing requirements relative to neighboring wells and property lines, and realistic lead time for board approval before drilling.
4. Don't treat historical irrigation yield figures for a tract as guaranteed future performance -- ask about the well's recent production history and any recent redrilling or pump-lowering, both signs of a declining local water table.