Farmers and ranchers in East Texas rallied against a billionaire's bid to extract billions of gallons of groundwater for export to drought-stricken cities. The uproar at a local conservation district meeting highlighted tensions over water rights and rural livelihoods. Kyle Bass's companies seek permits to pump 15 billion gallons annually from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer.
On June 19, a crowd of farmers and ranchers packed the board meeting of the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District in Jacksonville, Texas, to oppose water permits requested by Redtown Ranch Holdings LLC and Pine Bliss LLC. These entities, linked to hedge fund manager Kyle Bass and his Conservation Equity Management Partners, aim to withdraw approximately 15 billion gallons of water each year from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. Residents fear the extraction will deplete local wells and harm agriculture in Cherokee County and surrounding areas.
Melisa Meador, a pecan farmer near Bass's Redtown Ranch, testified passionately: “Those who endlessly accumulate sow the seeds of their own destruction. Today’s water barons join river to river, well to well, until all water flows through their meters. Their thirst for profit can never be quenched.” Bass, defending his plans, stated in the hallway: “I’m not coming at this as a robber baron, and I’m not coming at this as someone who intends to do any harm whatsoever. If they come back to me and say, ‘You’re going to do harm, you need to reduce your permit,’ I’m a very reasonable person.” He emphasized that the water could supply dry western cities and represents less than 1 percent of Texas's statewide needs amid worsening droughts fueled by climate change.
Texas's 'rule of capture' allows landowners to extract groundwater without liability to neighbors, complicating regulation. The district referred Bass's application to the State Office of Administrative Hearings amid lawsuits. A July 15 hearing at the Texas Capitol drew lawmakers, including Representative Cecil Bell, who said: “We cannot compromise one region for another.” Representative Cody Harris, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced bills to ban East Texas water exports and study the aquifer's vulnerability, though they failed in special sessions; he anticipates success in 2027.
Industry veteran Johnnie Parker expressed skepticism: “To me it’s a circus when it comes to these hearings... There’s a lot of things that happen behind closed doors that the general public doesn’t get to see.” The conflict underscores broader water struggles, with cities like San Antonio already drawing 16 billion gallons yearly via the Vista Ridge pipeline, straining rural resources.