Tex. Water Code § 11.402
This is the official text of Tex. Water Code § 11.402, part of Texas’s Water Code — governs water rights and water resource management.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 11.402. APPOINTMENT AND AUTHORITY OF WATERMASTER.
Official statutory text
(a) A court having jurisdiction over a suit described in Section 11.401 of this code may appoint a watermaster with power to allocate and distribute, under the supervision of the court, the water taken into judicial custody.
(b) The court may not appoint a watermaster with authority to act both upstream and downstream from an existing reservoir on any surface stream of the state. However, once a watermaster is appointed, the construction of a new reservoir does not invalidate his appointment or restrict his authority over that portion of the stream contemplated by the original order of appointment.
(c) Under terms and conditions prescribed by the court, the watermaster may incur necessary expenses, appoint necessary deputies and assistants, and perform duties and assume responsibilities delegated to him by the court.
(b) The court may not appoint a watermaster with authority to act both upstream and downstream from an existing reservoir on any surface stream of the state. However, once a watermaster is appointed, the construction of a new reservoir does not invalidate his appointment or restrict his authority over that portion of the stream contemplated by the original order of appointment.
(c) Under terms and conditions prescribed by the court, the watermaster may incur necessary expenses, appoint necessary deputies and assistants, and perform duties and assume responsibilities delegated to him by the court.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.