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Water wells in the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District

Home water wells inside the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (Polk and San Jacinto counties, Texas) are typically 160 to 270 feet deep (median 206 ft, 1,533 wells drilled in the last 10 years). Most draw from the Jasper and Catahoula aquifers, with the Burkeville (58%), and 25% draw from the Chicot Aquifer, according to the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (TWDB). The split between the Chicot and the Evangeline is approximate. Over the last three full years drillers reported about 163 new home wells a year; the peak was 201 in 2022. Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $7,500 to $19,000.

Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.

Map of the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation DistrictDistrict boundary (Polk and San Jacinto counties) with the places that have the most home wells.West Livingston: 210 ftWest LivingstonLivingston: 220 ftBig Thicket Lake Estates: 180 ftBig Thicket Lake EstatesShepherd: 184 ftGoodrich: 218 ftGoodrichPoint Blank: 200 ftPoint BlankOakhurst: 220 ftOnalaska: 178 ftOnalaska25 miles

Under the center of the Lower Trinity GCD

District boundary from TWDB's file current as of November 2019. Later changes are not shown.

Home wells in and around the Lower Trinity GCD

Each dot is a home well from a state driller report, colored by depth. Tap one for its details and official report. Tap an empty spot to see what is under that point.

See underground

Well depth (ft)

  • <100
  • 100
  • 200
  • 300
  • 400
  • 600
  • 800+

Dark line: the district boundary (TWDB, 2019)

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
160 to 270 feet
Median depth
206 feet
Deepest 10% are past
340 feet
Water level (median)
65 feet
1,466 wells
Yield (median)
30 gpm
1,346 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
1,533
In the last 10 years
Counties
2
All years on file
3,196
median 210 ft, since 2001
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 65 feet below the surface (1,466 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 141 feet of water.

Map of the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation DistrictDistrict boundary (Polk and San Jacinto counties) with the places that have the most home wells.West Livingston: 210 ftWest LivingstonLivingston: 220 ftBig Thicket Lake Estates: 180 ftBig Thicket Lake EstatesShepherd: 184 ftGoodrich: 218 ftGoodrichPoint Blank: 200 ftPoint BlankOakhurst: 220 ftOnalaska: 178 ftOnalaska25 miles
District boundary from TWDB's file current as of November 2019. Later changes are not shown.

New home wells per year

Over the last three full years drillers reported about 163 new home wells a year; the peak was 201 in 2022.

Home wells reported per year in the Lower Trinity GCDFrom 2002 to 2026. The table below has every year.01002003002002: 622003: 1262004: 13620042005: 1192006: 1202007: 982008: 12220082009: 1212010: 1112011: 1312012: 10720122013: 1022014: 1062015: 942016: 10820162017: 1092018: 1232019: 1342020: 17120202021: 1402022: 2012023: 1792024: 15820242025: 1522026: 149
Domestic wells with a depth, by the year they were finished. 2026 is still in progress.
Show the data table
YearWells
200262
2003126
2004136
2005119
2006120
200798
2008122
2009121
2010111
2011131
2012107
2013102
2014106
201594
2016108
2017109
2018123
2019134
2020171
2021140
2022201
2023179
2024158
2025152
2026149

Which formation the wells draw from

Most draw from the Jasper and Catahoula aquifers, with the Burkeville (58%), and 25% draw from the Chicot Aquifer, according to the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (TWDB). The line between the Chicot and the Evangeline is drawn differently by different studies, so read that split as approximate: of the wells the state records in the Evangeline, our method finds the Evangeline for only about 51% and the Chicot for most of the rest.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Jasper, Catahoula and Burkeville58%872170–266
Chicot25%374141–233
Evangeline16%245175–320
Near or below the base of the Gulf Coast Aquifer1%9264–332

For 91% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

Places with the most wells in the district

PlaceMedian depth (ft)Middle half (ft)WellsMain layer
West Livingston210160–270133Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Livingston220161–28074Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Big Thicket Lake Estates180150–23668Chicot Aquifer
Shepherd184135–28468Chicot Aquifer
Goodrich218159–25660Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Point Blank200180–23655Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Oakhurst220198–27447Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Onalaska178152–23046Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Cape Royale262218–29144Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
North Cleveland225205–25442Chicot Aquifer
Indian Springs218174–23640Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville
Cedar Point210171–29238Jasper and Catahoula, with the Burkeville

Counties

Depth over time

Home well depth in the district has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 208 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 205 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005200460
2006–2010220572
2011–2015220540
2016–2020210645
2021–2025205830
2026216149

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Common questions

How deep are wells in the Lower Trinity GCD?

Home water wells inside the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (Polk and San Jacinto counties, Texas) are typically 160 to 270 feet deep (median 206 ft, 1,533 wells drilled in the last 10 years).

Which formation do wells in the district draw from?

Most draw from the Jasper and Catahoula aquifers, with the Burkeville (58%), and 25% draw from the Chicot Aquifer, according to the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (TWDB). The line between the Chicot and the Evangeline is drawn differently by different studies, so read that split as approximate: of the wells the state records in the Evangeline, our method finds the Evangeline for only about 51% and the Chicot for most of the rest.

What does a groundwater conservation district do?

In Texas, districts are the local authority over groundwater: they can require registration or permits for new wells, set spacing from other wells and property lines, and limit pumping. Each district writes its own rules, so ask the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District before drilling inside it.

What a well costs here

At the median depth for the district (206 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $7,500 to $19,000: $25 to $60 per foot for drilling, casing and seal, plus $2,500 to $6,500 for the pump, pressure tank, controls and hookup at the well. Across the whole middle half of depths (160 to 270 feet) the range runs from $6,500 to $22,500. This is TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas prices, not a quote, and it leaves out trenching and the line to the house. Get prices from at least two licensed drillers.

How these numbers are made

We count new and replacement domestic (home) wells whose coordinates fall inside the district boundary. We use the last 10 years when there are at least 30 wells; otherwise all since 2001. The median is the middle well and the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

To tell which layer a well draws from, we take the ground elevation at its location, subtract the depth of the interval where water enters (or the bottom of the hole when the report does not give one) and see which layer of the state's model that point falls in.

For 91% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

How well it works: In 14,333 wells in the area of the state's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model (Houston and Southeast Texas) where the State of Texas recorded the aquifer, the formation our method says the well draws from (as grouped on these pages) is the one the state recorded in about 83% of them, and that formation or the one next to it in at least 99%; of the 3,578 of those wells that the state records in the Evangeline, it names the Evangeline for about 51% and the Chicot for most of the rest.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model, with cells of about 0.62 mile (1 km). It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot.
  • The state's model has cells of about 3,277 ft (1 km, 0.62 mile); we read it on a grid of about 0.6 by 0.7 miles. It is not a survey of any lot, so we give ranges.
  • Figures go by three groups: Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper and Catahoula with the Burkeville. The state's records cannot tell the Burkeville, the Jasper and the Catahoula apart at a well (alone, the Burkeville matched 33% and the Catahoula 50%), so they are never named one by one as the formation of a well or a place.
  • The line between the Chicot and the Evangeline is drawn differently by different studies. The state's records put about half of their Evangeline wells in what the model draws as the Chicot, mostly deeper wells in Harris, Montgomery, Waller, Liberty and Austin counties. Where both appear, the split is approximate.
  • "Near or below the base" means the well ends near or below the base of the Gulf Coast Aquifer (under the Catahoula: Jackson Group, Yegua and older). It is 1.3% of home wells; half of them end within about 85 ft of the base. That is not an error: the model simply ends there.
  • The model's top layer is a uniform 49 ft slab for the water table zone, not a rock unit; we merge it into the unit beneath. The model also covers Colorado, Lavaca, Fayette, Wharton and Matagorda counties (outside Groundwater Management Area 14), with the same framework. Texas part only.
  • We never use the model's water levels. The water level on this page is the one each driller measured when the well was finished.

These are depths of real wells drilled nearby, not a promise about any property. Groundwater can change over short distances and with drought. A licensed water well driller can tell you what to expect on a specific tract.

Read the full methodology · Download the data (CSV, CC BY 4.0)

How to cite

TerraFunded (2026). Texas Well Atlas: Underground. From Texas Water Development Board driller reports and groundwater availability models (data as of November 10, 2026). https://terrafunded.com/wells/districts/lower-trinity-groundwater-conservation-district. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources