A Presidio County landowner has been ordered to stop drilling an unpermitted water well near Chispa Road and could face fines of up to $25,000 per day for failing to comply, according to reporting by the Big Bend Sentinel.
Cameron McClintock, chair of the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District, told the district at a recent meeting that he contacted the landowner after officials discovered the well being drilled without a permit.
McClintock said the landowner denied knowing about the well and ended the phone call. The district then issued a cease-and-desist letter requiring a response by July 31 and an immediate halt to drilling operations. Officials did not publicly identify the property owner.
Texas law generally allows landowners to use groundwater beneath their property, but new wells within the district must be permitted. Local groundwater officials can monitor pumping, impose restrictions and require reductions to protect shared aquifers.
The enforcement action comes as water use has become an increasingly contentious issue in Presidio County, particularly amid border wall construction and other commercial development. Residents have raised concerns that large-scale pumping could strain the region’s limited groundwater supplies.
At the same meeting, the district unanimously approved a permit connected to a proposed 10-space RV park in Presidio. The approval corrected paperwork that had previously classified the site’s residential well as exempt. The well will now operate as a monitored commercial well through the end of 2026.
Board member Fernando Juarez was absent for the vote. Juarez has faced scrutiny over his service on the groundwater board while working as a Homeland Security Investigations agent and leasing property to a border wall contractor.
The Presidio City Council reaffirmed Juarez’s appointment to the groundwater board July 13. Juarez has said the arrangement does not present a conflict of interest and that he received a federal legal review permitting the lease.
The Department of Homeland Security generally prohibits federal law enforcement employees from benefiting from federal contracts, though agency ethics officials may review and authorize certain contractual arrangements.
The groundwater district has also tightened procedures for challenging well applications. A notice for its July 16 meeting said supporters and opponents must appear in person and demonstrate a legally protected interest that could be directly affected by a proposed permit.
This report is based on original reporting by Kate Baucaz of the Big Bend Sentinel
