Texico's Lawns Are Waiting on a 4.2-Mile Pipe From Clovis. Here's Where It Stands.

The pipe starts near Clovis Regional Airport, where NM 523 meets Curry Road D. It runs east as 8-inch high-density polyethylene and ends at Texico's finished-water tank south of Hutson Avenue. It is 4.2 miles long. According to the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority's project list, it is still under construction.

That short line matters more to Texico's brown lawns than the decades-long Ute Reservoir project. The town has been on Stage 4 water restrictions since Mayor Deborah Autrey declared them at the June 11, 2024 City Council meeting. In August 2026, the city tied any easing of those rules to supplemental water arriving through EPCOR, the utility that runs Clovis's water system. That water is coming through this pipe.

The Line Has a Formal Name and Three Partners

On paper, it's called the Texico Lateral. It belongs to the larger Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System, which the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority (ENMWUA) operates. The authority describes it as the connection that will move water through EPCOR's Clovis distribution system and on to Texico.

Clovis Mayor Mike Morris explained the arrangement at a February 2026 meeting of the Clovis City Commission. According to the commission minutes, he said the Texico lateral "is being permitted as an end use pipeline as ENMWUA, EPCOR and Texico are working together to receive the water." At that same meeting, Jacobs Engineering reported the line was under construction, and commissioners heard that a groundbreaking had just taken place in Texico.

ABC 7 Amarillo reported in August that Texico has a new EPCOR groundwater source on the way, which will supply 32 gallons per minute. Mayor Autrey described that water as coming "through that line."

The Finish Date Has Moved Twice This Year

The schedule is where Texico residents feel this project most. In February, construction was expected to wrap up by late July. By August, the expected start for pumping had moved from the end of September to possibly January.

According to ABC 7 Amarillo, the mayor said, "They started this project and thought we would have water pumping by the end of September through that line. They have a few things that have put some glitches in it. Last meeting with them, they said it could be January."

A few days earlier, KAMR reported the city's own wording. Supplemental water was expected through EPCOR "within about six months," and once that supply is running, officials anticipate being able to lift the current restrictions. Six months from early August lands around February. January and February both point to this winter, which is well after the original dates. ENMWUA's project page lists the lateral as 55% complete. The page has no date on it, so that figure is a snapshot, not a countdown.

What 32 Gallons a Minute Covers

The arithmetic for the EPCOR source is simple:

• 32 gallons per minute × 60 minutes × 24 hours = about 46,000 gallons per day if it runs nonstop.
• In May 2024, EPCOR reported that Texico used about 95,000 gallons per day, with a peak day of 117,000 gallons.
• On June 10, 2024, the day before Stage 4 was declared, daily use was about 98,000 gallons.

So at full flow, the new source equals a little under half of what Texico was using on an average spring day in 2024, and closer to 40% of that peak day. The city calls it supplemental water. It adds to Texico's current supply rather than replacing it. That's why officials link it to easing restrictions instead of ending conservation. The City of Texico says it has been under water-conservation requirements since November 2007, and it reaffirmed its conservation ordinance in June 2025.

Texico has also gotten smaller. ABC 7 Amarillo put the population at around 950 and noted that this is down from years past.

The 2031 Ute Water Runs on a Different Clock

Texico has paid into the Ute Reservoir project for years, so it's natural to connect those payments to any relief. The city has said directly that they are separate. KAMR reported that Texico's payments to the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority do not mean Ute Reservoir water is reaching Texico now, and that the payments do not automatically end the conservation measures. Ute water is currently expected in 2031. EPCOR serves as the interim source until then.

The size of that future supply puts the interim one in perspective. According to ABC 7 Amarillo, Mayor Autrey said Texico is allotted 200 acre-feet of Ute water per year. One acre-foot is about 325,851 gallons. Two hundred acre-feet over a year works out to roughly 178,000 gallons a day, close to double Texico's average daily use in May 2024 and nearly four times the 46,000 gallons a day the EPCOR source can deliver.

The 2031 water also still needs storage. ENMWUA lists a separate Texico Finished Water Tank as "Awaiting Funding."

The reason the whole system exists shows up on the authority's FAQ page. It says Ogallala water levels beneath Clovis, Portales and nearby communities have dropped more than 100 feet over past decades, by as much as 2 feet per year in some places.

Stage 4 Rules Stay in Place Until City Hall Says Otherwise

Since the timeline depends on that pipe, the rules hold through the winter. KAMR reported the city's position plainly: the restrictions stay in full effect until the City issues an official announcement changing the conservation stage. Here is what Stage 4 currently prohibits or limits, per the city's list as KAMR reported it:

• No lawn watering.
• Trees and shrubs may get limited hand-watering, using a hose with a shut-off nozzle or a handheld container.
• No washing vehicles at home.
• No filling or refilling swimming pools and spas, and pools must stay covered when not in use.
• No runoff from sprinkler systems.
• No washing sidewalks, pavement or other hard surfaces.
• No filling or refilling ornamental fountains.

Violations can bring fines from $100 to $500, depending on whether there are repeat violations. You can read the full text of Ordinance 325 on the City of Texico's website, along with the Stage 4 notice. That notice is posted at City Hall and was printed on the back of residents' water bills for more than a year. City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m.

Many yards have already adjusted. Diane Queener, fire chief for the Texico Volunteer Fire Department, told ABC 7 Amarillo that "a lot of people have cut back on grass and are now zero scaping to cut back the use of water." She also said water rates go up because the town is "trying to put in infrastructure for a water system." The city's posted residential rate is a $55 base charge for up to 2,000 gallons. Usage from 2,001 to 4,000 gallons costs $55 plus $10 per 1,000 gallons.

The rules and fines above are summarized from public reporting and city materials. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the ordinance itself or call City Hall to confirm how a rule applies to your property.

If you're deciding whether to reseed this spring, replace a dead lawn with rock, or wait to hear what City Hall announces after the EPCOR water starts flowing, Tammy Waters and The Waters Group are happy to talk through how water and landscaping questions come up when Texico homes change hands. Give us a call, or request your free buyer/seller packet.