TREC Water Rights Disclosure: What East Texas Sellers Need

The short answer

If you are selling with a Texas Real Estate Commission contract (other than the residential condominium resale contract), the default is that you provide the Seller's Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights (Form 61-0), effective July 1, 2026—unless every statement in the contract's Paragraph 7I(3) exception is true. TREC's FAQ on the water disclosure (August 14, 2026) spells out when the form is required, how it differs from the Seller's Disclosure Notice, and what "surface water rights" means. For East Texas sellers around Lufkin, Livingston, Nacogdoches, Huntsville, and Conroe—where wells, ponds, and lake-adjacent lots are common—checking the exception early prevents a last-minute contract scramble.

Why TREC created the form

TREC added contract language and Form 61-0 after the Sunset Advisory Commission's special-purpose review directed better buyer information on groundwater and surface water rights tied to a property. TREC:

• Added a new section to Paragraph 7 of most contract forms (excluding the Residential Condominium Contract (Resale)).
• Created the Seller's Disclosure about Groundwater and Surface Water Rights.

Unlike the Seller's Disclosure Notice required by Texas Property Code §5.008, this water disclosure is not required by a separate statute in the same way—it is driven by the TREC contract the parties choose.

When the disclosure is not required

On the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), the disclosure is not required when all Paragraph 7I(3) statements are true. TREC's FAQ and Texas REALTORS® June 2026 forms summary describe that basket as including, in substance:

• Seller is not aware of a water well on the property (in use or not).
• Seller is not aware of a pond, lake, or water tank on the property.
• Seller is not aware of a TCEQ certificate of adjudication, certified filing, or permit for surface water rights associated with the property.
• Seller is not aware that any groundwater rights have been severed, sold, or leased in whole or in part.
• The property receives water only from a municipality, MUD or other special district, water supply corporation, or private water supply company—and the seller completes the blank naming that source.

If any one of those is false, plan on completing Form 61-0. TREC also notes: being inside a groundwater conservation or subsidence district does not by itself force the disclosure if every 7I(3) statement is still true.

East Texas practical notes (from TREC's own FAQ)

• A lake that borders the property is not the same as a lake on the property for the 7I(3)(b) statement.
• A river or creek running through the property is not what triggers the exception test under the current contract language (TREC says its Broker-Lawyer Committee may revisit "stream" and "water tank" definitions later).
• "Surface water rights" means a TCEQ permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication authorizing diversion, impoundment, or use of surface water.
• Exemptions from the Seller's Disclosure Notice (Property Code §5.008) do not automatically exempt you from the water disclosure—the tests are different.
• TREC cannot give legal advice on a specific lot; private counsel is the right place for title and rights questions.

Keep this separate from the broader Seller's Disclosure Notice and from insurance lines such as roof age on the disclosure.

Seller checklist before you list

1. Walk the property: well heads, cisterns, ponds, tanks, irrigation ponds.
2. Ask your title company or attorney whether groundwater rights were ever severed or leased.
3. If you hold a surface-water permit number, have it ready for the form.
4. If every 7I(3) statement is truly met, still fill the water-source blank in (3)(e).
5. If buyers ask early whether the disclosure will be attached, answer before they write—TREC's FAQ suggests buyers can submit with Box (2) checked when unsure.

How On The Market Texas fits

On The Market Texas helps East Texas homeowners get a free, no-obligation home value estimate based on local market activity, with review by a local specialist. We do not invent listing results or legal outcomes. Water-rights paperwork belongs with your agent, title company, and attorney; this article is educational summarizing TREC's published FAQ and form page.

Bottom line

Wells, ponds, and severed groundwater rights are common enough in East Texas that Form 61-0 should be on your pre-listing checklist whenever a TREC contract is in play—unless every Paragraph 7I(3) exception truly fits.

Curious what your East Texas home could sell for? Get a free home value estimate. No obligation to list.