Water in Bastrop County: Aqua WSC, Private Wells and What to Verify Before You Buy Land

If you take one thing from this page, take this: a tract of land being for sale does not mean water is available to it. Nothing derails a Bastrop County land purchase more often, or more expensively, than a buyer who assumed water would be simple.

I am a REALTOR®, not an engineer or a utility representative. Use this to know what to ask. The binding answer for any specific parcel comes in writing from the utility itself.

Who serves Bastrop County

The Texas Water Development Board identifies nine municipal water providers in Bastrop County, plus several smaller systems. The ones you will run into most:

Aqua Water Supply Corporation — by far the largest, covering most of the county
City of Bastrop, City of Elgin and City of Smithville within their service areas
Bastrop County WCID No. 2 — formed in 1985 for the Tahitian Village subdivision
Creedmoor-Maha WSC, Polonia WSC, Fayette WSC and Lee County WSC around the edges

Service territories are set by Certificates of Convenience and Necessity issued by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, not by county lines or by which provider is nearest. Two neighboring tracts can fall under different utilities.

Aqua Water Supply Corporation

Aqua is a member-owned nonprofit that has served the area since 1970 and is the second-largest water supply corporation in Texas by connections. It covers roughly 1,200 square miles across seven counties — most of Bastrop County plus parts of Travis, Lee, Caldwell, Fayette, Gonzales and Williamson — with more than 30,000 meters. Office: 415 Old Austin Hwy, Bastrop, (512) 303-3943.

It is a feasibility study, not an availability letter

You will hear people say “just get a water availability letter from Aqua.” That is not what Aqua calls it and not quite how it works, and using the wrong term will slow you down.

Use the correct path for the request. For an ordinary existing or single-property service question, confirm the parcel and proposed use with Aqua Member Services and review the official service-area map. For subdivisions, multiple connections, large-volume service, or other development requests, Aqua now directs applicants to its online feasibility-study process. Aqua’s Development Services page says walk-ins are not accepted and that an application does not enter the queue until it is complete and the study fee is paid.

Aqua currently estimates approximately 60 days for a feasibility study. That estimate does not fit inside a typical short option period, and the clock does not begin until Aqua has reviewed the application for completeness and the fee has been paid. If service feasibility is material to the purchase, negotiate a timeline and contract protection that allow the necessary written response; do not assume an estimated turnaround is a guaranteed completion date.

And if the property does not touch Aqua’s distribution system, an approach main is required to reach it. Aqua acquires the easements for approach mains; the cost of line extensions and road bores is quoted case by case from labor and materials at the time of construction. That is the line item that turns a bargain tract into an expensive one.

What connection actually costs

Aqua publishes its fees, which is more than many utilities do. As currently posted, a straight-set total connection fee for a single dwelling is roughly $9,070 for a 5/8-inch meter, $14,614 for 3/4-inch and $20,492 for 1-inch. Subdivisions requiring capacity reservation pay a further $600 per living unit equivalent.

Layered on top is the System Development Fee. Aqua’s current published schedule lists $8,400 per living unit equivalent in 2026, followed by scheduled increases to $9,700 in 2027, $11,200 in 2028, $12,900 in 2029, and $14,900 in 2030. If your construction is several years away, use the fee for the expected connection year when estimating costs, then reconfirm it with Aqua because published schedules can change.

Smaller items: a $100 membership fee, $25 to transfer membership at a change of ownership, a $100 customer service inspection required by TCEQ at a new connection or transfer, and a $150 application fee for property review.

These change. Check Aqua’s rates and fees page before relying on any number here.

Private wells

Plenty of Bastrop County property is on a well, and for larger acreage it is often the sensible answer.

The Carrizo-Wilcox is a major aquifer in this region and includes the Hooper, Simsboro, and Calvert Bluff formations, along with the overlying Carrizo. The Queen City, Sparta, and Yegua-Jackson aquifers are also present. Water quality and depth vary substantially by location and formation. Texas Water Development Board materials note localized mineralization and potential iron or manganese concerns, so test the specific well rather than assuming treatment will—or will not—be necessary. See the TWDB Carrizo-Wilcox overview.

The groundwater district

Groundwater in Bastrop and Lee counties is regulated by the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District, created by the Legislature in 1999 and confirmed by voters in 2002. Contact through lostpineswater.org.

Lost Pines GCD changed its exemption rules in October 2025. The former acreage-based summary is no longer sufficient: the district says smaller properties may also qualify for a domestic or livestock-well exemption when the well is incapable of producing more than 25,000 gallons per day. The General Manager may approve, deny, or refer an exemption request to the Board. Review the district’s October 2025 rule-change notice.

Exempt does not mean undocumented. Registration, well records, construction standards, spacing, production capability, and the intended use still matter. A non-exempt well requires the applicable district authorization or operating permit. Before treating a parcel as eligible for an exempt well, obtain a parcel-specific answer from Lost Pines GCD and confirm the driller will file the required well records.

Before you buy a property on a well

Ask for the well log and completion report. Depth, formation and yield are on it.
Get a flow test and a water quality test during the option period, not after.
Ask how old the pump and pressure tank are — they are the parts that fail.
Find out whether the well is registered with the Lost Pines district.
If the well is shared with a neighbor, get the shared well agreement in writing and read it carefully.

Buying raw land with no service

If a tract has no water service and no well, here is the honest order of operations.

Confirm which utility, if any, holds the CCN for that parcel. The PUC publishes mapping tools, but the answer you can rely on is written confirmation from the utility.
Ask what it takes to get service — is the main at the road, or does it need an approach main? Get the estimate in writing.
Price the alternative. If a well is the answer, talk to a local driller about likely depth and cost in that specific area.
Build the timeline into your contract. A 60-day feasibility study does not fit inside a 10-day option period. This is negotiable, and it is the kind of thing I write into an offer.
Do the septic work in parallel. Water and wastewater together determine whether a tract is buildable and at what cost.

Let me check it before you fall in love with it

On every piece of land I show, I want to investigate three things early: who may serve it with water, what a licensed site evaluation indicates for septic, and whether any portion is in a mapped or locally identified flood-hazard area. Some preliminary records can be checked quickly, but written utility feasibility, well evaluation, septic suitability, and floodplain review may take longer. Build enough time and appropriate contingencies into the contract before relying on the property as buildable.

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Written by Bre Meador, REALTOR® — All City Real Estate, Bastrop County, TX · U.S. Army veteran and former nurse · TREC #0835116
Read client reviews. Last updated August 5, 2026. This page is general information from a licensed REALTOR®, not tax, legal, engineering or insurance advice.