For years, the well on a Boerne property was something buyers learned about during the option period. An inspector would check the pump, a lender might ask for a flow test, and if something looked off, it became a negotiating point after the ink was already dry on the contract. As of July 1, 2026, that sequence changed. The Texas Real Estate Commission now requires a standalone disclosure covering exactly this territory, and sellers generally have to provide it before a buyer signs, unless an exception applies.
The form is called the Water Notice: Seller's Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights, or TREC Form 61-0. It's brand new. TREC adopted it on May 4, 2026, following direction from the Sunset Advisory Commission's review of the agency's disclosure requirements, and use became mandatory statewide on July 1. In a lot of Texas cities, this form is a formality, a box that gets checked "none of the above" because the house sits on municipal water with no well, pond, or lake in sight. In Kendall County, it isn't a formality. When a seller is required to provide it, the form is the first time they have to put in writing, at the front end of a transaction, what they know about the thing a large share of Boerne-area homes actually depend on for water.
What the Form Actually Asks
Form 61-0 covers six specific items, and TREC's own guidance to license holders walks through each one. When a seller is required to provide the form, it asks about:
| What the form asks | Why it matters here |
|---|---|
| Whether the property has a private well and its known condition | Many Kendall County homes outside city limits run on private wells |
| Whether the property sits inside a groundwater conservation district | Most of Kendall County falls under Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District |
| Whether groundwater rights have been severed, sold, or leased | Relevant on larger acreage tracts and older parcels with layered ownership history |
| Whether the property has surface water rights tied to a creek, river, or pond | Common on Hill Country lots with a tank, pond, or seasonal creek |
| Whether a well crosses onto or draws from a neighboring property | An issue on some older subdivided acreage |
| Whether any dispute or pending claim exists over water access | Rare, but a real disclosure obligation if it applies |
TREC has been direct about what the form is not. It isn't a warranty, and it doesn't replace an inspection. It's a snapshot of what the seller personally knows on the day they sign it. But the timing is the part that actually changes behavior. The new language sits in Paragraph 7 of most residential contract forms, which means a buyer sees the seller's answers before the option period even starts, not after an inspector finds something.
The Exception Most People Assume Applies to Them
Here's where it gets specific, and where a lot of well-meaning sellers are going to get it wrong. TREC's own FAQ on the new form spells out an exception: if a property meets a set of conditions listed under Paragraph 7I(3), the seller doesn't have to provide the water disclosure at all, even if the property technically sits inside a groundwater conservation district.
The catch is in the details. A lake or pond that borders a property, or sits adjacent to it, is treated differently than a lake or pond located on the property. Only the second one breaks the exception. A river or creek running through the property, on the other hand, doesn't factor into the exception test at all under the current language, according to TREC's guidance.
That means a Boerne seller with a dry stock tank tucked in the back corner of a five-acre lot, or a seasonal creek crossing the property line, needs to think through the exact wording of the exception rather than assuming "we're on municipal water, so this doesn't apply to us." TREC has already flagged that its Broker-Lawyer Committee plans to revisit some of this language, including how the form should treat streams and what it means to "receive" water, so the fine print here is likely to get sharper, not softer, in the months ahead.
Why This Lands Differently in Kendall County
Boerne and the surrounding parts of Kendall County have more properties outside municipal service than most of the San Antonio metro. The city's own utility system draws on a mix of groundwater and treated surface water from the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, and Boerne Utilities has said publicly that its customers use less groundwater on average than residents on private wells. That comparison only makes sense if a meaningful number of homes nearby are running their own wells instead of connecting to the city system, which is exactly the pattern in unincorporated parts of the county and in communities that sit just outside city limits.
Almost all of Kendall County falls under Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, created after the area was declared a Critical Groundwater Area back in 1990, a designation that later became known as the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area. The district's authority isn't theoretical. When Cow Creek moves into its most severe drought stage, it cuts Boerne Utilities' allowable groundwater pumping by 40 percent, which is a real operational constraint the city has had to plan around during dry years. A well on private land inside that district is subject to the same regulatory structure, including registration requirements and, for larger non-exempt uses, permitting through the district.
Septic tells a similar story. A property on an aerobic treatment unit in Kendall County needs an Affidavit to the Public recorded at the County Clerk's office, plus a signed maintenance contract, and the county has 30 days to approve or deny a new system application. None of that changed on July 1. What changed is that, when a seller is required to provide the new disclosure, it asks them to state in writing whether the well tied to that same property has ever had issues and whether they know the groundwater rights are clean, before a buyer commits to a contract instead of after.
What This Means If You're Listing This Fall
If you're selling a home in Boerne or unincorporated Kendall County right now, the practical move is to pull your well and septic paperwork together before you list, not after you've accepted an offer. That means locating your well's driller's log if you have it, confirming whether your property registered with Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, and checking whether your septic system's maintenance contract and county affidavit are current and on file. If you're not sure whether your specific parcel falls under the district's jurisdiction or which exceptions might apply to your situation, the district's office in Boerne can confirm registration status directly, and a real estate attorney is the right call for anything involving severed groundwater rights or ambiguous exceptions.
Buyers should read this new form as closely as they read the inspection report. A vague or incomplete answer on Form 61-0 isn't just a paperwork gap. It's an early signal about whether well and water documentation exists at all, well before the option period clock starts running.
None of this is legal or financial advice, and every property's situation is different enough that a specific question deserves a specific answer from an attorney or the district itself rather than a general guide. But the shape of the change is clear: a piece of due diligence that used to live in the middle of a Boerne transaction now lives at the very beginning of it.
A Few Questions Worth Asking Early
Does this form apply if my home is on city water and sewer inside Boerne city limits? Often the exception under Paragraph 7I(3) will apply if there's no well, no pond or lake on the property, and no known severed water rights. It's still worth confirming rather than assuming, especially if there's any pond, tank, or seasonal water feature on the lot.
Do I need a new well inspection to fill out the form? The form itself only asks what you know. It doesn't require a new inspection to complete. That said, a current well test gives you something concrete to disclose instead of relying on memory, and it can head off questions during the option period.
Where do I confirm whether my property is registered with Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District? The district's office in Boerne can confirm registration and jurisdiction status directly for a specific parcel.
If you're weighing a sale in Boerne this fall and want to walk through what this new form means for your specific property, Lira Realty Group can help you sort out what needs to be documented before you list. Schedule a consultation.
