Are Texans drilling deeper water wells?
We compared every home well drilled in Texas in 2003 to 2007 with 2021 to 2025. Statewide the median barely moved, but in the same places wells are deeper and the water sits lower.
Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 10, 2026, using the state file of November 9, 2026.
Findings
- Statewide, the median new home well barely changed: 260 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 255 feet in 2021 to 2025.
- In the same places, it did: across 1,169 areas of about 6 miles with wells in both periods, new wells are a median 9 feet deeper and the water sits 8.5 feet lower. The water level dropped in 68% of those areas.
- By county, 36 of 180 comparable counties now drill at least 10% deeper with statistical confidence, 7 at least 10% shallower and 137 show no meaningful change. In 20 counties the median rose 20% or more.
Counties drilling deeper (36)
| County | 2003 to 2007 median (ft) | 2021 to 2025 median (ft) | Change | Water level change (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee | 260 | 450 | +73.1% | +74 |
| Navarro | 60 | 103 | +71.7% | +3 |
| Smith | 281 | 450 | +60.1% | +67 |
| Anderson | 295 | 446 | +51.2% | +71 |
| Frio | 300 | 420 | +40% | +104 |
| Wheeler | 132 | 182 | +38.3% | +26 |
| Karnes | 292 | 400 | +37% | +24 |
| Webb | 480 | 655 | +36.5% | +150 |
| Uvalde | 220 | 300 | +36.4% | +84 |
| Burnet | 260 | 350 | +34.6% | +112 |
| Shelby | 205 | 268 | +30.7% | +10 |
| Brown | 161 | 210 | +30.4% | +6 |
| Llano | 140 | 180 | +28.6% | +7 |
| Dimmit | 400 | 505 | +26.2% | +75 |
| Comanche | 130 | 160 | +23.1% | +17 |
| Hidalgo | 260 | 320 | +23.1% | +40 |
| Scurry | 197 | 240 | +21.8% | — |
| Lampasas | 284 | 345 | +21.5% | +30 |
| San Patricio | 165 | 200 | +21.2% | -4 |
| Harrison | 289 | 350 | +21.1% | +14 |
| Dallam | 430 | 515 | +19.8% | +76 |
| Austin | 180 | 210 | +16.7% | +16 |
| Kerr | 480 | 560 | +16.7% | +66 |
| Walker | 223 | 260 | +16.6% | +17 |
| Milam | 380 | 440 | +15.8% | +20 |
| Lynn | 121 | 140 | +15.7% | — |
| Blanco | 364 | 420 | +15.4% | +51 |
| Henderson | 400 | 460 | +15% | +45 |
| Rusk | 356 | 410 | +15% | 0 |
| Hamilton | 410 | 470 | +14.6% | +42 |
| Parker | 210 | 240 | +14.3% | 0 |
| Lavaca | 166 | 189 | +13.9% | +16 |
| Randall | 310 | 353 | +13.9% | +39 |
| Jasper | 170 | 190 | +11.8% | 0 |
| Freestone | 412 | 460 | +11.5% | +25 |
| Bandera | 480 | 530 | +10.4% | +40 |
Counties drilling shallower (7)
| County | 2003 to 2007 median (ft) | 2021 to 2025 median (ft) | Change | Water level change (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron | 115 | 70 | -39.1% | +2 |
| Chambers | 300 | 200 | -33.3% | -32 |
| Martin | 115 | 80 | -30.4% | -5 |
| Refugio | 288 | 205 | -28.7% | +10 |
| Hardin | 330 | 255 | -22.7% | -10 |
| Caldwell | 300 | 248 | -17.5% | +20 |
| Hockley | 174 | 148 | -14.9% | -13 |
What this does and doesn't show
- These are wells people chose to drill, not a monitoring network. Where and why people drill changes over time.
- A deeper well can mean a falling water table, a different aquifer, better water quality or simply more reserve.
- The water level is measured once, when each well is finished, so drought years pull it down. 2022 and 2023 were dry years in much of Texas.
Read the full methodology. Download the county table (CSV).
How to cite: TerraFunded Texas Well Atlas, from Texas Water Development Board driller reports (data as of November 9, 2026). https://terrafunded.com/wells