Backed a snake into a corner..

[Weester]

They are black, too! Notice the shape of the body on the water snake and the shape of the body on the cotton mouth then look at the picture you took........

 

[charlief1]

I'm in Central Texas so those snakes are very limited down here.

Populations of the Gulf salt marsh snake(N. c. clarkii) from the vicinity of Corpus Christi, Texas, to the Gulf Hammock region of Florida are gray, tan or yellow with four brown to black longitudinal stripes.

Or

The Brazos water snake grows to a total length of 16 to 32 inches (41-81 cm), and ranges in color from brown to olive green. It has two rows of spots that go down either side of its back, and has a pink or orange underside with dark spots down either side.

The Brazos is about 50+ miles from here so I doubt it's that one since it's a specific location snake.

The Concho water snake grows to a total length of 16 to 32 inches (41–81 cm), and looks very much like Nerodia harteri, but tends to be more red in color and has no dark markings on the underside.It is found only in west-central Texas in the Colorado and Concho river systems, in Coke,Runnels, San Saba, and Tom Green counties.

That one's at least several hundred miles away and I doubt it would come this far.

Diamondback water snakes are predominantly brown, dark brown, or dark olive green in color, with a black net-like pattern along the back, with each spot being vaguely diamond-shaped. Dark vertical bars and lighter coloring are often present down the sides of the snake. The underside is generally a yellow or lighter brown color often with black blotching. The diamondback water snake is found in the central United States, predominantly along theMississippi River valley.

This one does inhabit Texas but it's more than a little uncommon, not to mention it doesn't look like the pic I took. These are the "water snakes" that seem to be in Texas but other than the pond there really isn't any body of water within at least 1/2 mile and I doubt that a snake that primarily live in and eats water creatures would go that far just to be in my back yard. It could be a black racer but they're easily scared and move very fast, which this one didn't.