What happened: Midland County Utility District officials say they are in talks to potentially buy Park Water’s system. This move could solve a major obstacle facing MCUD, because the district does not currently have the legal authority to provide water service in parts of Greenwood and Vander Ranch, even though those areas fall within MCUD’s voter-approved boundaries.

Editor’s note: MCUD is not associated with Midland County government. It is a voter-created, taxpayer-supported public utility district.

Park Water currently controls those service rights through a state-issued certificate of convenience and necessity, or CCN. MCUD General Manager Norman Ashton said on KWEL radio on May 15 that buying Park Water would give MCUD both the water system and the legal right to serve that territory.

“We’ll continue to talk with [Park Water] and try to come up with something reasonable to be able to purchase them at some point,” Ashton said.

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Why it matters: The dispute highlights the complication in Greenwood’s long-running water debate that building infrastructure and securing funding do not automatically give MCUD the right to provide service.

“If at some point that CCN is no longer available, then we would be able to provide that water,” Ashton said. “Or if we can make a deal with Park Water to purchase their system eventually, then we would inherit that [CCN].”

The big picture: Last year, Park Water asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) for permission to expand its service territory deeper into MCUD’s boundaries. MCUD stepped in to oppose those applications and asked for full public hearings. That triggered a separate lawsuit in the 441st Judicial District Court.

Park Water argued that MCUD signed agreements between 2019 and 2021 promising not to oppose Park Water’s expansion efforts, and that MCUD broke those agreements by intervening at the PUC. In March, District Judge Robnett temporarily sided with Park Water and ordered MCUD to withdraw its opposition. MCUD is now appealing that ruling with the 11th Court of Appeals.

The two PUC cases remain active and have moved into contested-case proceedings.

Go deeper: A buyout could effectively resolve both disputes with a single solution. If MCUD bought Park Water, it would inherit Park Water’s water system and its legal service territory. That would likely eliminate the need for the PUC CCN expansion fight and remove the underlying contract dispute between the two parties that the district court is currently reviewing.

Ashton told KWEL that any deal would require an independent appraisal first to determine whether Park Water is worth what MCUD could offer.

“We need money to do that,” Ashton said. “The amount of money to do that is gonna be a lot.”

The bottom line: MCUD’s appeal does not automatically erase the court order currently requiring it to withdraw opposition to Park Water’s expansion requests. Until something changes, Park Water remains the only legal water provider for Vander Ranch and certain parts of Greenwood.