I am writing a graduate paper in the history department.  I am
interested in finding up to 20 primary and secondary sources on the
historical, political, and legal structures as to the ownership of
Texas water rights, including surface and groundwater, from the
Spanish land grants in the nineteenth century to the present times.
The available of fresh water is a critical concern of Texas residents
especially those living in West Texas.  San Antonio and El Paso are
two cities already purchasing water rights.  Ownership is cloudy
compared to land titles.  The English common law with respect to
ownership will probably be important also.  I wish I could point you
to a prominent author of a secondary source but I cannot do so. 
Indian law in Texas is another possible area to investigate.  I know
this is a huge topic and I will probably have to reduce it in size. 
This is a topic for a dissertation to be completed by 2008.  However,
I have to start my research now and I need to read sources this
semester in order to satisfy my faculty advisor.  Legal sources are
fine because my background includes two law degrees.  Thank you.

Hello publiuslex,

I have found several bibliographies or collections of sources on Texas
water rights.  They are contained in documents that might themselves
be secondary sources, or at least guides, for your project.

"Handbook of Texas Water Law: Problems and Needs," by Ronald A. Kaiser
Texas Water
http://texaswater.tamu.edu/Resources/2002-037_waterlaw.pdf

"A Primer on Texas Surface Water Law for the Regional Planning
Process," by Ronald A. Kaiser (presented Oct. 1, 1998)
Bickerstaff, Heath, Smiley, Pollan, Kever & McDaniel, LLP
http://www.bickerstaff.com/waterlawfeature/kaiser.htm

"Texas Water Rights Law: East Meets West," by Otis W. Templer (Journal
of Contemporary Water Research and Education, #85, Spring, 1991)
Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR)
http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/updates/pdf/V85_A2.pdf

"Water Law," by Otis W. Templer (last updated June 6, 2001)
Handbook of Texas Online [The Texas State Historical Association]
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/WW/gyw1.html

"Texas Water: Sources," compiled by Dennis Trombatore (rev. 9/2001)
The University of Texas at Austin, Walter Geology Library
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/txwater.html

Another promising source, not available in full-text on the Web
without a subscription or purchase, is:

"Water Rights in Texas," by Ralph A. Wurbs (Journal of Water Resources
Planning and Management, v. 121, issue 6, (November/December 1995))
American Society of Civil Engineers
http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JWRMD5000121000006000447000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes

If you need to consult a professor for more information, the best
single place to go appears to be the Texas A&M University Water
Program.  Its faculty includes two of the authors cited above:
Professors Kaiser and Wurbs.  You might wish to skim the publication
lists on faculty pages of this site -- such as for Professors Kaiser
and Wurbs -- to see whether some of the publications strike you as
potentially useful sources (which might in turn lead to other
sources).

"Faculty"
Texas A&M University Water Program
http://waterfaculty.tamu.edu/faculty.html

The other author cited above, Professor Templer, is associated with Texas Tech.

"Dr. Otis W. Templer"
Texas Tech University
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/economicsandgeography/geog/geog_index.htm

I believe that this information, especially the bibliographies,
answers your question.  If you think that I've missed something in
your question, please let me know so that I may clarify or do
follow-up research.

- justaskscott


Search strategy --

Searched on Google and Google Scholar for the following terms in
combinations and phrases:

texas
water
rights
history
bibliography
otis templer