Buying Land in Crosby County, Texas

Water: a boundary question, not a countywide answer

The single most important water fact for Crosby County is a boundary one. The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1, a large district spanning 11,850 square miles and headquartered in Lubbock, covers Bailey, Cochran, Hale, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Parmer, and Swisher Counties in full -- but includes Crosby County (along with Armstrong, Castro, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Hockley, Potter, and Randall Counties) only partially. That means a buyer cannot assume countywide coverage either way: a parcel in the HPWD-covered part of Crosby County is subject to the district's permitting and production rules, while a parcel outside that boundary is not -- and confirming which side of that line a specific tract falls on is a genuinely necessary, parcel-level step rather than a general county-level fact this page can settle for you.

Where HPWD does apply, its rules are specific and real: a well expected to produce 17.5 gallons per minute or more needs a permit (a $250 non-refundable application fee) approved by both the district manager's office and the board of directors before drilling legally begins. Non-exempt wells are subject to an Allowable Production Rate of 1.50 acre-feet per contiguous acre per year (roughly 18 inches), and higher-capacity wells must meet minimum spacing distances from existing wells and property lines that scale with the new well's expected production. A well producing less than 17.5 gpm doesn't need a permit but can still be voluntarily registered with HPWD, which comes with a spacing benefit -- a 100-yard protective buffer against newly permitted wells nearby.

Septic and subdivision: confirm directly, both open questions

Crosby County falls within TCEQ Region 2, based in Lubbock, for state environmental permitting. This research could not confirm whether Crosby County itself operates its own TCEQ-authorized OSSF program or routes septic (OSSF) permit applications through the Region 2 office directly; confirm current authorized-agent status with the county or TCEQ before budgeting for a system. Separately, this research could not locate a published, standalone subdivision-regulations ordinance for Crosby County online. That doesn't necessarily mean no rules exist for dividing land here -- it means a buyer planning a land split should contact the Crosby County Commissioners Court directly for the current process rather than relying on an assumed absence of regulation.