Three essays on groundwater depletion and groundwater conservation districts in Texas

Texas is the last state to still utilize absolute ownership in the US (often referred to as the rule of capture) as the state-wide regime for appropriating groundwater. Like many states in the southwest and west, Texas faces tremendous challenges in the coming years in providing adequate water supplies for a growing population. Water demand is expected to grow by 27 percent for the fifty year period between 2010 and 2060 while water supplies may decrease by 18 percent.;The primary source of water in the State of Texas is groundwater, accounting for sixty percent of all water-use. The State has opted for a system of locally controlled groundwater conservation districts (GCDs) as the primary means of regulating groundwater production. Districts are created by either the Legislature or by petitioning the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Groundwater districts have the authority to mitigate for the rule of capture under provisions in Chapter 36 of the Water Code through “well spacing and production limits.”;The objective of this research is to first determine whether or not groundwater districts impact depletion rates. If so, the second objective is to determine exactly what it is that districts do that makes a difference. The final objective is to determine whether changing the state-wide appropriation regime could improve groundwater depletion rates in the state.;Using data from the Texas Water Development Board for the dependent variable in a fixed effects framework, we find evidence that groundwater districts do beneficially impact depletion rates and that certain types of rules, namely those based on the amount of land on which wells operate, appear to be the most effective in beneficially impacting groundwater depletion. Finally, we find evidence suggesting that other appropriation regimes, specifically reasonable use and prior appropriation, may be more beneficial to in reducing groundwater depletion.