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Seller's disclosure of what Seller knows about groundwater, water wells, groundwater rights, and surface-water rights — translated into plain English. Not a warranty and not a substitute for inspections or legal/title review.
Buyer’s Representative — Read Before Choosing: In this Section — If you represent the Buyer, you must choose #1 or #2. Do not select #3 (Unknown) unless you have documentation from the Seller showing that #3 is correct.
Does the property have a well, groundwater rights, surface-water rights, ponds/lakes/tanks, or water rights shared with or controlled by someone else? This is a disclosure of Seller’s knowledge only — it is not a warranty and does not replace inspections or legal/title review.
Each section in one easy question:
Memory trick: WELL = where the water physically comes from. GROUNDWATER RIGHT = who legally owns/controls the underground water rights. SURFACE WATER RIGHT = legal right to use/divert certain surface water. POND/LAKE/TANK = physical water feature, which is not automatically the same as owning a Surface Water Right. If the parties intend to reserve, except, or separately convey Water Rights, consult an attorney before signing the purchase contract — this disclosure form does not itself draft that conveyance or reservation.
Source: TREC Staff, 08-14-2026
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) added new contract language and created the Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights following direction from the Sunset Advisory Commission’s special-purpose review of TREC’s disclosure requirements. As part of that review, the Sunset Advisory Commission directed TREC to add language to its contract forms to provide prospective buyers with relevant information about groundwater and surface water rights associated with a property. To implement that recommendation, TREC added a new section to Paragraph 7 of most contract forms (excluding the Residential Condominium Contract (Resale)) and created the Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights.
If using any TREC contract (other than the Condominium contract), the default is that the disclosure is provided unless all of the statements listed in Paragraph 7I(3) of the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) (or the corresponding paragraph in another TREC contract) are true. If the disclosure is required to be provided under the contract, the seller should complete the form accurately, follow the instructions provided with the form, and avoid leaving required information incomplete.
No. Unlike many other disclosures referenced in TREC contracts, the Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights is not required to be provided by another law. For instance, the Seller’s Disclosure Notice is required in most residential transactions under Texas Property Code Section 5.008. The water disclosure may be required to be provided, however, if parties are utilizing a TREC contract. Even so, there is an exception in which the disclosure would not need to be provided. Review Paragraph 7 of the applicable TREC contract to determine whether the exception applies.
The disclosure is not required when all of the statements listed in Paragraph 7I(3) of the contract are true. If this exception applies, don’t forget to complete the blank in (3)(e).
When providing the disclosure: carefully read the questions and any instructions; complete the form accurately; do not leave required information incomplete; and if you have questions, consult with a private attorney.
No, not necessarily. The situations in which a seller is not required to provide the Seller’s Disclosure Notice — determined by Texas Property Code Section 5.008 — are different from the situations in which a seller is not required to provide the water disclosure, which is determined by the TREC contract. There could be situations where neither is required, both are required, or one is required but not the other.
No. Regardless of whether a property is located within a groundwater conservation or subsidence district, a seller would not be required to provide the disclosure if all of the statements listed in Paragraph 7I(3) are true. This is true even though the disclosure itself specifically asks about groundwater districts, including groundwater conservation districts and subsidence districts.
Neither the TREC contracts nor the disclosure itself includes a specific definition for these terms, so the seller and buyer should assume the ordinary meaning applies. If a seller is unsure whether a property feature falls into one of these categories — say a rain barrel or a koi pond — the best practice may be to assume it is included in the term. Ultimately, it would be up to a court to determine the meaning of those terms in the event of a dispute. If parties have questions, they can consult with a private attorney.
The disclosure itself provides the definition. In the TREC contract and disclosure, "surface water rights" mean a permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that authorizes the diversion, impoundment, or use of surface water. "Surface water" is also defined by the disclosure as water in lakes, rivers, creeks, streams, and in the bays, estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico.
If a seller does own surface water rights, the disclosure specifically asks the seller to identify the applicable surface water right by its permit, filing, or certification of adjudication number, and, if more than one person owns an interest, to identify that person and their interest. These questions should help tip off a seller if, in fact, they do own a surface water right. A seller should always consult with a private attorney if they have any questions about what rights they may own.
Neither the TREC contracts nor the disclosure itself definitively asks whether groundwater rights have been severed, sold, or leased. Instead, the language refers to whether the seller is aware (or not) that any groundwater rights have been severed, sold, or leased. A seller should always consult with a private attorney if they have any questions about these rights.
A lake that borders or is adjacent to a property is not the same as a lake located on the property, which is what the statement in Paragraph 7I(3)(b) provides. If the seller is not aware of a pond, lake, or water tank on the property and the remaining statements are also true, the seller would not be required to provide the disclosure under the TREC contracts.
Under the language of the TREC contract, a river or creek running through the property is not relevant for purposes of determining whether the exception applies. If all of the statements listed in Paragraph 7I(3) of the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) (or the corresponding paragraph in another TREC contract) are true, the seller is not required to provide the disclosure.
TREC’s Broker-Lawyer Committee continuously reviews contract form language as a result of public comments, changes in the law, or industry changes. The committee already plans to review several items based on questions received, including the definition of "water tank" and, in the exception language, whether a "stream" should be addressed and what it means to "receive" water. It’s likely changes will be made at some point, but changing a TREC contract form is a slow, deliberate process. No changes are expected immediately.