Upshur votes to join water district
Posted/updated on: July 16, 2026 at 9:14 pm
UPSHUR COUNTY – The County Commissioners’ Court unanimously voted to join the future Northeast Texas Groundwater Conservation District on Wednesday, according to our news partner, KETK. Upshur County Precinct 1 Commissioner Gene Dolle said they voted to join the planned district as part of a growing effort to conserve the area’s underground water resources.
Smith and Gregg County Commissioners have also voted to join the district recently. According to Dolle, the effort to create the district has been spearheaded in Upshur County by their recently elected County Judge L. Brandon Dodd. Dodd is working closely with State Rep. Jay Dean, a longtime champion of local water conservation.
The district will be comprised of anywhere between a dozen and 16 East Texas counties that sit over the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer and aren’t yet a part of a groundwater conservation district. It would be led by its own board and the East Texas Council of Governments, and work with state lawmakers, and individual counties to help safeguard local water resources.
