CRMWA general manager briefs the Amarillo City Council on water supply and the planned 70-mile pipeline
CRMWA General Manager Drew Satterwhite gave the council an update on CRMWA's history, Lake Meredith, the Roberts County well field and the planned additional 70-mile pipeline, which he said would bypass the original aqueduct and provide redundancy for Amarillo. Asked by Councilmember Don Tipps about Fermi America's campus, he said CRMWA's models were not forecasting that Fermi's demand would come from CRMWA.[1][2]
Drew Satterwhite: The September 9, 2025 council minutes record a "Canadian River Municipal Water Authority update" presented by Drew Satterwhite. As reported by the Amarillo Tribune, Satterwhite said the planned 70-mile pipeline would let CRMWA fill its original 1960s aqueduct with groundwater, bypass the original aqueduct and provide redundancy for Amarillo, and that 100% of the water CRMWA delivers to Amarillo currently passes through a pipe approaching 60 years old.[1][2]
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Member cities with more than 10,000 people appoint two CRMWA directors and smaller cities appoint one. Amarillo's appointed CRMWA directors are Johnny Mize and Roy Urrutia.[2][3]
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Drew Satterwhite: Asked by Councilmember Don Tipps about the possible effect of Fermi America's campus on CRMWA's supply, Satterwhite said CRMWA's models were not forecasting that Fermi's demand would come from CRMWA, and that it did not concern him with regard to CRMWA's Roberts County groundwater.[2]
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None of the sources reviewed for this record states that CRMWA II is planned or sized to serve Fermi America's Project Matador. CRMWA and the City attribute the need for CRMWA II to Lake Meredith's declining reliability and water quality, aging infrastructure and growing member-city demand. Coverage of the April 2026 rate study lists Fermi's water supply and CRMWA costs as separate factors.[2][4][5]
