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Organization · compiled Oct 25, 2026

Canadian River Municipal Water Authority (CRMWA)

The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority (CRMWA) is a conservation and reclamation district the Texas Legislature created on May 27, 1953 to supply water to 11 member cities in the Panhandle and South Plains, including Amarillo. It operates Lake Meredith, the original aqueduct system that began deliveries in 1968, and the John C. Williams well field and aqueduct in Roberts County, which began delivering groundwater in 2001. A 17-member board appointed by the member cities governs it, and it bills the cities for its costs; its FY2024/25 budget was $36,996,301, of which $14,090,126 was allocated to Amarillo. In FY2024-25 it delivered 65,572 acre-feet, 51,863 of it groundwater.

Dated events →
23
2001–2038
Storylines →
1
that name it
Paid by the City →
$53.7M
check register, all payments
In profiles →
1
CRMWA II

Project profile: CRMWA II →

How to read this page

Every row says what kind of statement it is. Where sources give different figures, each is listed with its source under “Figures by source”; some disagree, some cover a different phase or date. Numbers link to the source list at the bottom.

Fact
Recorded in a document: a vote, a payment, a filing, a measurement.
Commitment
What a party has agreed to in a signed agreement or approved item.
Plan
What a party says it intends to build or do; it may change.
Projection
An estimate of a future effect by a named agency, consultant or plan.
Estimate
A cost or size figure given by a named party, with its date and basis where stated.
Company statement
What a company says about itself or its project, not independently checked.

What it is

CreatedMay 27, 1953
CRMWA was created on May 27, 1953 by Chapter 243, Acts of the 53rd Legislature (formerly article 8280-154 of Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as a conservation and reclamation district under Article 16, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution. The 2026 Panhandle Water Plan says it was created to distribute water from the Canadian River Project under the Canadian River Compact among Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. 1,2,3As of Dec 1, 2025
Member cities11
Amarillo, Borger, Brownfield, Lamesa, Levelland, Lubbock, O'Donnell, Pampa, Plainview, Slaton and Tahoka, with a combined population of 565,124 in 2025 (CRMWA). Amarillo, Borger and Pampa are in the Panhandle planning region; the other eight are in the Llano Estacado region. 1,3As of Dec 1, 2025
Headquarters9875 Water Authority Road, Sanford, Texas
Headquarters (Northern Operations Division) in Sanford, Hutchinson County, with a Lubbock field office and CRMWA Corporation in Logan, New Mexico, which runs the Lake Meredith Salinity Control Project.4,1,5As of Oct 25, 2026

Schedule

Board meetings
The board meets quarterly (third Wednesday of January, second Wednesday of April, July and October). 2026 meetings were January 21, April 8, July 8 and October 14; minutes are available on request, not online. 6As of Oct 25, 2026

Money

Budget, FY2024/25$36,996,301
CRMWA's FY2024/25 original budget was $36,996,301: $12,015,911 operation and maintenance, $11,713,581 pumping energy and chemicals, and $13,266,809 bond payments. CRMWA bills member cities on a cost-reimbursement basis and trues up to actual costs after year end; the board adopts the budget in April. 1As of Dec 1, 2025
Amarillo's share of budget$14,090,126 (FY2024/25)
CRMWA's FY2024/25 budget allocated $14,090,126 to Amarillo ($4,103,834 O&M, $4,275,218 pumping energy and chemicals, $5,711,074 bond payments). Amarillo and Lubbock together make up 74.32% of CRMWA's annual revenue. The City's FY2026/27 budget book lists $14,216,749 for its CRMWA payment plus $4,021,325 of CRMWA bond debt service; the City's rate consultant put Amarillo's CRMWA cost at 24% of the water budget in FY2026. 1,7,8As of Sep 24, 2026
City payments recorded$51,535,515.95
The City's check registers record 72 payments totaling $51,535,515.95 to CRMWA between July 21, 2022 and May 14, 2026; the register does not say what each payment was for.9As of May 14, 2026
FY2025 results
Operating revenues were $17,507,037 in FY2025; net position rose $2,761,468 to $335,986,802. The audit (Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert & Moss) gave an unmodified opinion. 1As of Sep 30, 2025
Debt outstanding$39,835,000 principal
At September 30, 2025 CRMWA had $39,835,000 of bond principal outstanding ($45,463,067 with premium) in three series of subordinate lien contract revenue refunding bonds (2017, 2020 and 2023; the 2021 series was defeased in February 2025), the last maturing February 15, 2031. The bonds financed the groundwater project and water rights and are rated Aa3 by Moody's. Amarillo's share of principal owed by member cities was $13,930,261. 1,5As of Sep 30, 2025The ACFR's table labels this balance row "September 30, 2024"; it follows FY2025 principal payments of $9,350,000.
Capital plan
CRMWA adopted its first formal Capital Improvements Plan in 2025. Under the CRMWA II MOU it is to raise its CIP budget each year from October 1, 2026 for critical repairs (such as pipe under Lake Tanglewood, highways and railroads) and CRMWA II design. The size of the FY2026/27 increase was not found. 10,11PlanBy CRMWA (history page); CRMWA and member cities (MOU), Jun 23, 2026

Water

Lake Meredith
The Bureau of Reclamation built Sanford Dam and completed Lake Meredith in 1965, with conservation storage of 500,000 acre-feet under the Canadian River Compact; CRMWA's state permit allows diversion of up to 100,000 acre-feet a year for the member cities and 51,200 for industry. The lake was empty for 1,107 days from May 25, 2011 to June 12, 2014 in TWDB storage data, and was 44.6% full on October 15, 2026. On September 30, 2025 CRMWA reported 279,840 acre-feet in storage. 3,12,1As of Oct 15, 2026
Original aqueduct
Built 1963-1966 and in service since 1968, the aqueduct runs from Lake Meredith south through Amarillo and Lubbock to Lamesa, with branches to Borger and Pampa and to the southwestern and southern cities; it is mostly concrete pipe from 96 inches down to 8 inches and can deliver up to 118 million gallons a day. Four pumping plants lift water about 800 feet to Amarillo. Lengths are given as 322 miles (aqueduct page), 326 miles (MOU) and about 400 miles of pipe including the groundwater system (MOU appendix). 13,11As of Oct 25, 2026
Roberts County well field
CRMWA began buying Roberts County water rights in 1996, broke ground on the groundwater project in 2000 and placed the John C. Williams Aqueduct and Wellfield in service in December 2001. It added wells in 2008 and 2010-2011 (44 wells, 88 MGD); capacity had fallen to 75.8 MGD by FY2025, and four new wells (about 7 MGD) were due in summer 2026. The 54-inch groundwater aqueduct carries up to 65 MGD (69,000 acre-feet a year). 1As of Dec 1, 2025
Groundwater rightsjust over 456,000 acres
CRMWA holds water rights on just over 456,000 acres in Roberts and adjacent counties (456,993 in the 2026 plan), including 211,000 acres bought in late 2011; the plan calls it the largest holder of groundwater rights in Texas. 1,3As of Dec 1, 2025
Deliveries, FY2024-2565,572 acre-feet
In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 CRMWA delivered 65,572 acre-feet to member cities and their customers: 13,708 from Lake Meredith and 51,863 from the well field. Amarillo received 27,119 acre-feet. 1As of Sep 30, 202527,119 is 41.4% of 65,572 (our calculation).
Amarillo's allocation
Sources give different figures for Amarillo's share.
  • Figures by source
  • 32,240 acre-feet (37.1%) · FY2025-26 allocation and proposed FY2026-27 allocation, of 87,000 acre-feet1
  • 41.6% · Five-year average share of deliveries (same table)1
  • about 55% · CRMWA general manager to the council, June 23, 2026 (as reported): share of CRMWA supply Amarillo uses14
As of Jun 23, 2026
Supply vs. need
The 2026 plan puts CRMWA's current supply at 77,000 acre-feet a year in 2030 against demands of 97,421, and 54,333 in 2080 against 118,345. CRMWA's annual report says member cities need 37 billion gallons a year while it can supply 22.5 billion (69,000 acre-feet), and that water quality limits lake water to about 25% of deliveries. 3,1ProjectionBy Panhandle Water Planning Group (2026 plan); CRMWA (FY2025 annual report), Dec 1, 2025

Board and management

Board17 directors
Each member city's governing body elects two directors if it has 10,000 or more people and one if fewer, for two-year terms; directors must be qualified voters and property-owning taxpayers of the city and may not be members of its governing body or employees. The board lists 17 directors: two each from Amarillo, Borger, Levelland, Lubbock, Pampa and Plainview, and one each from Brownfield, Lamesa, O'Donnell, Slaton and Tahoka. The board hires the general manager. 1,15As of Oct 25, 2026
Amarillo's directorsJohnny Mize, Roy Urrutia
Amarillo's appointed CRMWA directors are Johnny Mize and Roy Urrutia.15,1As of Oct 25, 2026
General managerDrew Satterwhite, P.E.
Drew Satterwhite became CRMWA's third general manager on October 31, 2022, after Kent Satterwhite (2001-2022) and John Williams (1968-2001). Chad Pernell is deputy general manager. 1,4As of Dec 1, 2025

Related parties

  • City of Amarillo

    Member city; two directors; largest allocation (37.1% for FY2025-26)15,1

  • City of Lubbock

    Member city; two directors; allocation equal to Amarillo's for FY2025-26 (32,240 acre-feet)15,1

  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

    Built Sanford Dam and the Canadian River Project; grant partner on salinity and desalination studies3,1

  • Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District

    Permits CRMWA's Roberts County wells (up to 69,000 acre-feet a year under the original permit)16,17

Storylines

Events

  1. CRMWA's John C. Williams Wellfield and Aqueduct begin delivering Roberts County groundwater
  2. CRMWA expands its Roberts County well field to fill the 65 MGD groundwater aqueduct
  3. CRMWA begins discussing the CRMWA II concept with its board and member cities
  4. CRMWA uses unspent bond funds for a CRMWA II route study and easements
  5. Lake Meredith begins to recover and the immediate need for CRMWA II subsides
  6. CRMWA's original main pipeline has two leaks within 30 days; a 2016 survey finds segments to reinforce
  7. Archeological survey of the proposed CRMWA II pipeline route in four Panhandle counties
  8. 2016 regional water plans list "Expand Capacity CRMWA II" as a recommended strategy
  9. Panhandle planning group ranks CRMWA II pipeline projects for the 2021 regional water plan
  10. City check register: $51.5 million paid to CRMWA, July 2022 to May 2026
  11. CRMWA staff begin meeting each member city about CRMWA II timing
  12. CRMWA adopts its first formal Capital Improvements Plan
  13. CRMWA board meetings in July and October 2025 discuss CRMWA II timing with member cities
  14. CRMWA general manager briefs the Amarillo City Council on water supply and the planned 70-mile pipeline
  15. Panhandle planning group adopts the 2026 regional water plan with CRMWA II at about $800 million
  16. CRMWA board hosts a member-city roundtable on CRMWA II
  17. CRMWA board agenda takes up its Capital Improvements Plan, FY2026/27 budget and a CRMWA II update
  18. Rate consultant projects Amarillo's CRMWA cost rising to about $39.5 million by FY2036 as CRMWA II is phased in
  19. Amarillo City Council approves the non-binding CRMWA II memorandum of understanding, 4-0
  20. FY2026/27 budget book raises the City's CRMWA payment line to $14.2 million
  21. CRMWA board regular meeting scheduled in Plainview
  22. Expected: CRMWA issues debt to build CRMWA II (MOU target 2034)
  23. Expected: CRMWA II operational by the end of 2038 (MOU target)

City payments

From the City's check register. The register records payees, not projects, so these totals are every payment to the name, whatever it was for.

Not public, or not found

  • CRMWA FY2025/26 and FY2026/27 adopted budgets. Checked: CRMWA Financial Reports page (only the FY2025 ACFR with the FY24/25 budget), April 8, 2026 agenda (budget approval listed, outcome not posted)
  • Board minutes for 2026 meetings. Checked: CRMWA agendas page ("available upon request")
  • Directors' appointment dates and terms. Checked: CRMWA board page, ACFR, City boards portal (not re-fetched)
Sources (17)