Title WA, Water Code

Sec. 53.088. STATUS OF THE DISTRICT. A district is: (1) a governmental agency; (2) a body politic and corporate; and (3) a defined district within the meaning of Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 406, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971. …

Sec. 53.101. PURPOSE OF DISTRICT. Fresh water supply districts may be created to conserve, transport, and distribute fresh water from any sources for domestic and commercial purposes. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 407, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971.

Sec. 53.102. CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS. The constitutional basis for this chapter is Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 407, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971.

Sec. 53.103. GOVERNMENTAL POWERS OF DISTRICT. A district has the powers of government and authority to exercise the rights, privileges, and functions given to it by this chapter or by any other state law. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 407, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971.

Sec. 53.104. AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE WATER RIGHTS. A district may acquire water rights and privileges in any way that an individual or corporation may acquire them. A district may hold water rights and privileges, either by gift, purchase, devise, appropriation, or by other means. A…

Sec. 53.105. CONTRACTS WITH OTHER DISTRICTS OR WATER SUPPLY CORPORATIONS. (a) In this section, "authorized water district" means a district created under Section 52(b)(1) or (2), Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution. (b) A district may enter into a contract…

Sec. 53.107. DISTRIBUTION OF WATER AND USE OF REVENUES OBTAINED FROM DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. (a) The board shall: (1) prescribe the terms on which water will be furnished; (2) fix the rate to be paid by users of water from the district; and (3) make rules and regulations governing…

Sec. 53.112. USE OF ROADWAYS. In order to secure fresh water, a district may construct necessary levees, bridges, and other improvements across or under: (1) railroad embankments, tracks, or rights-of-way; (2) public or private roads and their rights-of-way; (3) rivers; (4) impro…

Sec. 53.113. CONSTRUCTING IMPROVEMENTS ON RAILROAD WAYS. (a) Before the district may construct an improvement across or under any railroad property, the district must notify the railroad authorities of the district's intention to construct the improvement if the railroad does not…

Sec. 53.115. DUTIES OF ENGINEER. (a) The engineer shall make maps and profiles of the district improvements, including any part of the improvements which extends beyond the boundaries of the district. (b) The engineer may adopt other correct maps, plats, and surveys. (c) The engi…

Sec. 53.121. CONSTRUCTING SANITARY SEWER SYSTEMS. (a) A district may purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate, repair, improve, and extend sanitary sewer systems to control wastes, if no other public sanitary sewer system is available for the area inside the fresh water supply …

Sec. 53.122. REGULATING SANITARY CONDITIONS INSIDE THE DISTRICT. (a) A district may regulate the installation, maintenance, and operation of plumbing fixtures and facilities inside the district for the purpose of: (1) maintaining safe and sanitary conditions; and (2) protecting t…

Sec. 53.123. GEOTHERMAL WATER CONVEYANCE SYSTEMS. A district may purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate, repair, improve, and extend geothermal water conveyance systems in the district. Added by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 455 (H.B. 4370), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2025.

Sec. 53.126. EFFECT OF ENUMERATION OF POWERS. No statement of specific powers in this chapter is a limitation on the general powers given by this chapter, unless it is specifically so stated. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 412, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971. SUBCHAPTER E. GENERAL …

Sec. 53.145. PAYMENT OF ELECTION EXPENSES. The board shall pay all expenses of calling and holding each election, except the creation election, from any district funds except the interest and sinking fund. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 413, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971.

Sec. 53.146. MAINTENANCE FUND. (a) A district shall have a maintenance and operating fund. The fund consists of all money collected by assessment or otherwise for maintaining and operating the property of the district. (b) The board shall use the money in this fund to pay: (1) al…

Sec. 53.150. PAYMENT OF DAMAGES. The district shall pay out of any funds or property of the district, except the interest and sinking fund: (1) compensation and damages adjudicated in condemnation proceedings; and (2) compensation for damage done to the property of any person or …

Sec. 53.151. COST OF SANITARY SEWER SYSTEMS. (a) The board may pay the cost of acquiring and repairing sanitary sewer systems from: (1) the proceeds of sale of bonds or other obligations issued by the district; (2) revenue obtained from maintenance taxes; or (3) revenue from the …

Sec. 53.171. POWER TO ISSUE BONDS. (a) A district may issue bonds to secure indebtedness for any purpose authorized by this chapter, Chapter 49, or other applicable laws. (b) A district may not issue tax bonds or incur any debt which is to be paid with tax revenue unless an elect…

Sec. 53.172. ORDERING BOND ELECTION. After the creation of a district and the qualification of the supervisors, the board may order an election in the district to authorize a bond issue. At this election, the board shall submit only a proposition authorizing the issuance of bonds…

Sec. 53.176. ISSUING BONDS. (a) After declaring the result of the election, the board shall make and enter an order in the minutes directing the issuing of bonds sufficient to pay for the proposed improvements. The board may not issue bonds in an amount greater than that specifie…

Sec. 53.177. APPROVING BONDS. (a) Before the board offers bonds for sale, it shall send to the attorney general a certified copy of all proceedings relating to organizing the district and issuing the bonds. They shall also provide other relevant information he requires. (b) The a…

Sec. 53.178. REGISTERING BONDS. When the attorney general approves the bonds, the comptroller shall register them in a book kept for that purpose. The comptroller shall record the certificate of the attorney general as to the bonds' validity. The bonds are then prima facie valid …

Sec. 53.179. SELLING BONDS. After the bonds are registered, the board shall sell them on the best terms and for the best price possible. The board shall promptly pay to the district depository the money received from the sale of the bonds. The district depository shall hold the m…

Sec. 53.180. RECORDING OF BOND ISSUES. (a) After the bonds are issued, the board shall deliver a well-bound book to the county treasurer, who shall keep in the book a list of: (1) all bonds which have been issued; (2) their manner of payment; (3) the amount of each bond; (4) the …

Sec. 53.181. PAYING BONDS AND INTEREST. At the time for paying interest or for redeeming the bonds, the district depository shall receive and cancel any interest coupons paid or any bonds redeemed. When the board receives an interest coupon or a bond, it shall credit the account …

Sec. 53.182. BONDS PAYABLE FROM REVENUES AND AD VALOREM TAXES. (a) For the purpose of constructing, purchasing, repairing, improving, and extending authorized improvements, a district may issue bonds payable solely from the revenues of: (1) the operation of the district's water s…

Sec. 53.183. ELECTION REQUIRED. (a) A district may not issue bonds as authorized in Section 53.182 of this code unless an election is first held in the district and the proposition is approved by a majority of the electors of the district who vote in the election. (b) If the elec…

Sec. 53.184. REFUNDING BONDS. (a) With the consent of the holders, a district may refund outstanding bonds by issuing new coupon bonds in their place. (b) Interest is shown by coupons attached to the bonds. The board may pay the interest on the bonds annually or semiannually. (c)…

Sec. 53.185. RATES AND CHARGES. If the board issues revenue bonds or combination tax and revenue bonds, the board, at the time it authorizes the bonds, shall fix rates and charges for the use of the facilities or the services rendered in an amount which, together with any tax whi…

Sec. 53.186. INTEREST AND SINKING FUND. (a) A district shall have an interest and sinking fund. The board shall credit to this fund all taxes collected for the payment of interest or redemption of district bonds. (b) The board shall use money in this fund only: (1) to pay interes…

Sec. 53.187. INVESTMENT OF SINKING FUND. The board may invest the district's sinking funds in county, municipal, district, or other bonds in which other sinking funds may by law be invested. The board may also invest the sinking funds in bonds of the series to which the funds app…

Sec. 53.188. LEVY OF TAXES. After the district has issued bonds, the board shall levy taxes on all property in the district, whether real, personal, or mixed. The board shall levy the taxes based on the full value of each piece of property. The board shall levy the taxes in an am…

Sec. 53.189. ASSESSOR AND COLLECTOR--OFFICE. The assessor and collector shall maintain an office. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 418, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1971.

Sec. 53.190. SUBJECT TO RULES OF BOARD. The assessor and collector is subject to the rules and regulations of the board in the same manner as provided by law for assessors and collectors of water improvement districts. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 418, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1…

Sec. 54.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "District" means a municipal utility district operating under this chapter. (2) "Board" means the board of directors of a district. (3) "Director" means a member of the board of directors of a district. (4) "Commission" means the Tex…

Sec. 54.011. CREATION OF DISTRICT. A municipal utility district may be created under and subject to the authority, conditions, and restrictions of Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution. Added by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 774, ch. 84, Sec. 1.

Sec. 54.012. PURPOSES OF A DISTRICT. A district shall be created for the following purposes: (1) the control, storage, preservation, and distribution of its storm water and floodwater, the water of its rivers and streams for irrigation, power, and all other useful purposes; (2) t…

Sec. 54.013. COMPOSITION OF DISTRICT. (a) A district may include the area in all or part of any county or counties including all or part of any cities and other public agencies. (b) The land composing a district need not be in one body, but may consist of separate bodies of land …

Sec. 54.014. PETITION. When it is proposed to create a district, a petition requesting creation shall be filed with the commission. The petition shall be signed by a majority in value of the holders of title of the land within the proposed district, as indicated by the tax rolls …

Sec. 54.015. CONTENTS OF PETITION. The petition shall: (1) describe the boundaries of the proposed district by metes and bounds or by lot and block number, if there is a recorded map or plat and survey of the area; (2) state the general nature of the work proposed to be done, the…

Sec. 54.016. CONSENT OF CITY. (a) No land within the corporate limits of a city or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city, shall be included in a district unless the city grants its written consent, by resolution or ordinance, to the inclusion of the land within the d…

Sec. 54.0161. REVIEW OF CREATION BY COUNTY. (a) This section applies only to a proposed district all of which is to be located outside the corporate limits of a municipality. (a-1) Promptly after a petition is filed with the commission to create a district to which this section a…

Sec. 54.0162. OPTION OF SELECTION BY DISTRICT COMPOSED OF NONCONTIGUOUS AREAS LOCATED IN THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF TWO MUNICIPALITIES. (a) A municipal utility district composed of noncontiguous areas that on January 1, 1995, are contained in the extraterritorial jurisd…

Sec. 54.0163. OPTION OF SELECTION OF EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION FOR CERTAIN DISTRICTS. (a) The board of a district that is located in the extraterritorial jurisdictions of more than one municipality by resolution may select the municipality that may exercise authority within t…

Sec. 54.0165. ADDITION TO DISTRICT OF LAND IN EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF MUNICIPALITY. (a) A district may not add land that is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality unless the governing body of the municipality gives its written consent by ordinance…