Most Lubbock neighbors never think about where the water comes from when they turn on the tap. A big part of it travels more than 100 miles from the Panhandle, and the regional authority that delivers it is planning a second pipeline. Lubbock’s estimated share of the bill: approximately $414 million, a figure an assistant city manager cited at the Sept. 22 council meeting, according to Amarillo Ledger’s review of the meeting captions.
That figure got fresh attention this week when The Lubbock Report detailed it, as summarized by the Lubbock Chronicle. The project, called CRMWA II, would pump more groundwater from Roberts County and could raise Lubbock’s daily water capacity from more than 71 million gallons to more than 103 million, the Chronicle said. The estimate does not include the city’s separate Lake 7 project, and officials have not estimated what it would mean for household water bills.
What is CRMWA?
The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority was created in 1953 to supply member cities on the South Plains and in the Panhandle, according to its own history. Lake Meredith water began flowing in 1968. In 2001 the authority added a groundwater supply from Roberts County, and today its 11 members are Amarillo, Borger, Brownfield, Lamesa, Levelland, Lubbock, O’Donnell, Pampa, Plainview, Slaton and Tahoka, ABC 7 Amarillo reported.
The lake has become far less reliable. CRMWA says 2012 was the first year it produced no water at all from Lake Meredith, and a 2025 engineering study put the lake’s firm yield at 16,700 acre-feet a year. That’s down from an original estimate of 126,000 and 76,000 in the 1980s. As a result, the authority says, it has come to rely more on groundwater.
What would CRMWA II build?
The plan includes more wells, two pump stations and about 70 miles of 72-inch pipeline running from Roberts County, north of Pampa, to a high point northeast of Amarillo, ABC 7 Amarillo reported Nov. 3. CRMWA general manager Drew Satterwhite told the station the idea dates to 2012, when Lake Meredith had no water to pump. The authority’s board voted unanimously in 2026 to move forward, with the new supply targeted to come online in 2038, CRMWA says. The original system would keep running.
“We have relied on Lake Meredith water for, you know, 50-something years, and while that has been great, we can’t always rely on that,” deputy general manager Chad Pernell told the station.
Where the $414 million comes from
Lubbock’s City Council approved a memorandum of understanding for CRMWA II 7-0 on Sept. 22, according to Amarillo Ledger, which reviewed the city’s minutes and meeting video. According to Amarillo Ledger’s account of uncorrected meeting captions, an assistant city manager told the council the project would cost about $1.11 billion, that Lubbock holds 37.67% of CRMWA’s water supply, and that Lubbock’s share would be about $414 million. The city’s agenda summary said the agreement documents the member cities’ intent but “is subject to change,” and listed its fiscal impact as “None.”
CRMWA put the total closer to $1.2 billion in its Nov. 3 interview. “It will be covered, as all CRMWA projects are, through ratepayers at the member cities,” Satterwhite told ABC 7 Amarillo, adding that the authority will also pursue state and federal financing.
Our neighbors are in this too
Slaton, Levelland, Plainview, Brownfield, Lamesa, Tahoka and O’Donnell are also CRMWA members. As of Nov. 5, Amarillo Ledger found council approvals of the agreement in Brownfield, Levelland, Slaton and Tahoka, among others, a newspaper report of approval in Lamesa, no recorded outcome yet for Plainview and no posted records for O’Donnell. Under the agreement, each member city’s council must also approve any CRMWA debt, the Ledger reported.
What we still don’t know
- How Lubbock would pay its share, and on what schedule.
- What it could mean for a typical monthly water bill. Officials haven’t offered an estimate.
- When the council would be asked to approve CRMWA debt for the project.
Hub City UnCovered is seeking comment from Lubbock Water Utilities and will update this story.
Sources
- Lubbock Chronicle (summarizing The Lubbock Report), Nov. 6, 2026: https://www.lubbockchronicle.com/p/crmwa-ii-lubbock-water-pipeline-414-million
- Amarillo Ledger, Lubbock MOU vote, Sept. 22, 2026: https://amarilloledger.com/events/crmwa-ii/crmwa2-2026-lubbock-mou/
- ABC 7 Amarillo (KVII), Drew Powell, Nov. 3, 2026: https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/crmwa-ii-water-project-moves-closer-to-reality-with-12-billion-plan-lake-meredith-drew-satterwhite-canadian-river-municipal-water-authority-chad-pernell-texas-panhandle
- Canadian River Municipal Water Authority, History: https://www.crmwa.com/history
