Texas LAND Spring 2015

Water
Pinto Creek ranch is home to two, year-round, live water streams. About one
mile of Pinto Creek and two miles of West Pinto Creek meander through the
ranch, eventually converging. At the convergence, they’re dammed, creating an
oasis for canoeing, kayaking, and fly fishing for the native species found in the
creeks.
The water course, lined with large pecans and elms, creates an environment
similar to that found on the banks of the Guadalupe River without the crowds.
Because both banks of the creeks are within the ranch’s interior, the experience
is completely private and protected from trespass.
Pinto Creek Ranch also has two artesian wells, one of which produces 200
gallons–250 gallons per minute year-round. It flows to the surface without a
pump, filling the three-acre reservoir near the main house. The water gravityflows
from the reservoir providing irrigation to the property’s farming operation.
A second artesian well produces about 60 gallon per minute. Its ever-present
water helps drought-proof the ranch. The water flows into a system of six-inch
PVC pipe that connects the artesian well to all of the ranch’s stock tanks, ensuring
they will never run dry. All of the tanks have been stocked with black bass, sun
perch, and catfish for hours of angling fun.
In addition, Pinto Creek Ranch owns 130-acre feet of grandfathered irrigation
(pumping) rights out of Pinto Creek, which will transfer with the ranch’s sale. An
acre-foot of water equals 325,851 gallons. The new owner of Pinto Creek Ranch
will have access to more than 42.4 million gallons of water from Pinto Creek each
year through these rights. Irrigation (pumping) rights in Texas are an asset.
Pinto Creek Ranch, which sits above the Trinity-Edwards Aquifer, is governed by
the Kinney County Water District. Other water districts in the region typically
grant two acre-feet of water for every surface acre owned. If the Kinney County
Water District follows this precedent, the owner of Pinto Creek Ranch, based on
its 2,447-acre size, could have access to 4,894 acre-feet or more than 1.6 billion
gallons of groundwater per year.
As a reference point, Edwards Aquifer water rights, currently, are worth $6,800
per transferrable acre-foot. If the Kinney County Water District follows the
precedent of other groundwater districts in the region, Pinto Creek Ranch’s
groundwater rights could be a significant economic asset.