Texas Water Code 11.031 – Annual Report
(a) Not later than March 1 of each year, each person who has a water right issued by the commission or who impounded, diverted, or otherwise used state water during the preceding calendar year shall submit a written report to the commission on a form prescribed by the commission. The report shall contain all information required by the commission to aid in administering the water law and in making inventory of the state’s water resources. However, with the exception of those persons who hold water rights, no report is required of persons who take water solely for domestic or livestock purposes.
(b) A person who fails to file an annual report with the commission as required by Subsection (a) or fails to timely comply with a request by the commission to make information available under Subsection (d) is liable for a penalty for each day the person fails to file the statement or comply with the request after the applicable deadline in an amount not to exceed:
(1) $100 per day if the person is the holder of a water right authorizing the appropriation of 5,000 acre-feet or less per year; or
(2) $500 per day if the person is the holder of a water right authorizing the appropriation of more than 5,000 acre-feet per year.
Terms Used In Texas Water Code 11.031
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(b-1) The state may sue to recover a penalty under Subsection (b).
(c) The commission may waive the requirements of Subsection (a) of this section for a person who has a water right or uses state water in an area of the state where watermaster operations are established.
(d) Each person who has a water right issued by the commission or who impounds, diverts, or otherwise uses state water shall maintain water use information required under Subsection (a) on a monthly basis during the months a water rights holder uses permitted water. The person shall make the information available to the commission on the commission’s request. The executive director shall establish a reasonable deadline by which a person must make available information requested by the commission under this subsection.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (a), the commission may request information maintained under Subsection (d) only during a drought or other emergency shortage of water or in response to a complaint.
(f) Subsection (e) does not affect the authority of a watermaster to obtain water use information under other law.
(g) The commission shall establish a process by which a report required under Subsection (a) may be submitted electronically through the Internet.