About Us

District information from the March 2017 website. Figures and officeholders below describe that period.

District history

The district was originally created as Collingsworth County Underground Water Conservation District by HB 1148 of the 69th Legislature of the State of Texas and ratified by the voters of Collingsworth County in 1986. Selected parcels from Childress County were added by individual land owner petition in May 2007. Hall County also joined the District by petition with a confirmation election in May 2007. The present District name of Mesquite Groundwater Conservation District was adopted in October 2007. The Mesquite Groundwater Conservation District encompasses all of Collingsworth and Hall Counties and portions of Childress and Briscoe Counties.

Groundwater and agriculture

Local farmers irrigate about 60,000 acres of agricultural crops each year, primarily cotton and peanuts. These crops, and the water that produces them, are vital to the future of the economy. Ninety-five percent of the water pumped each year from District aquifers, or 33,000 acre-feet, is used for irrigation. The other five percent is about equally divided between livestock and human consumption.

Eighty-five percent of the groundwater used in the District comes from the Seymour Aquifer, with the remaining fifteen percent provided by the Blaine and Whitehorse formations. These aquifers are recharged by local rainfall to some extent.

A major thrust of the District at the present time is to monitor groundwater levels to determine trends in water levels and usage in order to predict future supplies and demands on local aquifers. The District began water quality testing of groundwater in 2005.

Management and governance

The District is governed by eight locally-elected landowners who each represent a specific zone within the District and serve as District Directors for four-year terms of office.

The Board of Directors meets monthly, rotating meetings between the District office at 802 Ninth Street in Wellington, and a location in Memphis, TX.

The Board of Directors employs a General Manager to administer the general operations of the District.

The District has developed a comprehensive long-range Groundwater Management Plan to guide its operations and uses a current set of District Rules to implement the plan. These Rules include requirements for issuance of permits and spacing of new wells, drilling completion procedures, prevention of water waste, export of water from the District, pollution of groundwater, closure of abandoned wells, procedures for hearings, and other rules governing District operations.

Board and management in 2017

• President - Jerry Lewis
• Vice-President - Johnny Lindley
• Secretary - Mat Montgomery
• Dan Henard
• Danny Wischkaemper
• Terry Canada
• Rex Fuston
• Curtis Scrivner
• General Manager - Lynn Smith

For the present board, staff and district information, visit the current district website.