Can you build a pond on your property in Texas?


Can you build a pond on your property in Texas? Section 11.142 of the Texas Water Code allows a person, without obtaining a permit from the TCEQ, to construct on their own property a dam, pond or reservoir storing not more than 200 acre-feet of water for domestic and livestock and fish and wildlife purposes.


Is 5 acres a pond or lake?

There is no absolute definition between the two. The one used most often is the 5-acre rule: Ponds are less than 5 acres while lakes are more than 5 acres. Since most ponds across the country are less than an acre, we will use the term pond for the sake of this blog post.


Can you fish in your own pond without a license in Texas?

In Texas, anglers who fish privately owned water bodies are not required to hold a state fishing license. That covers a lot of water - the thousands of stock tanks, farm ponds, subdivision lakes or other impoundments wholly owned by private landowners. No license is required to fish those waters.


How many acres is considered a pond?

The definition of lakes and why there's no standardization A pond is a body of water less than 0.5 acres (150 square meters) in an area or less than 20 feet (6 meters) in depth. A lake is defined as a body of water bigger than 1 acre (4,000 m²), although size is not a reliable indicator of its water quality.