A Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) grants the holder the exclusive right to provide retail water or sewer utility service to an identified geographic area. Chapter 13 of the Texas Water Code requires a CCN holder to provide continuous and adequate service to the area within its CCN boundary. Municipalities and districts are not required to have a CCN to serve in areas that are not already being lawfully served by another retail public utility; however, some municipalities and districts choose to obtain a CCN to protect their service area from encroachment. A district may not provide retail water or sewer service within the certificated service area of a retail public utility or within the boundaries of another district without the retail public utility’s or district’s consent, unless the district has a CCN to provide retail water or sewer utility service to that area. Similarly, a municipality may not provide retail water or sewer service within the certificated service area of a retail public utility unless the municipality has a CCN to provide retail water or sewer utility service to that area. Click the button below to visit an interactive map showing CCN service areas in Texas.