Company Profile
Red River Authority of Texas
Company Overview
The Red River Authority of Texas was created in 1959 by Acts of the 56th Legislature as a conservation and reclamation district, a political subdivision of the state, a body politic and corporate under Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution.
During the 2018-2019 Legislative Session, under the 86th Legislature, the Authority was reviewed by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. One of the recommendations that derived from the review included codifying the Authority under state law. Effective April 1, 2023, the Authority’s codification became effective under the Special District Local Laws Code, Chapter 8510.
Within its Legal Territorial Jurisdiction, the Authority provides stewardship for the water resources in which its legislative charges shall be administered in all of any partial county lying within the watershed of the Red River in Texas. The total complement is 43 Texas counties. Although the Authority’s enabling legislation includes the Canadian River Basin counties of Lipscomb, Hartley and Hutchinson as part of the Authority’s legal jurisdiction, these counties are not part of the three regions.
The Authority is divided into three regions for appointment and representation of directors as follows:
Region 1
Armstrong, Carson, Castro, Collingsworth, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hemphill, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, and Wheeler Counties
Region 2
Archer, Baylor, Briscoe, Childress, Clay, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Foard, Hale, Hall, Hardeman, King, Knox, Motley, Swisher, Wichita, and Wilbarger Counties
Region 3 Bowie, Cooke, Fannin, Grayson, Lamar, Montague, and Red River Counties
Company History
The Legislature empowered the Authority with provisions to provide to any public entity within its legal jurisdiction for the purpose of planning, resource conservation and management, reclamation, development and environmental protection. Additionally, the Authority may engage in activities of pollution control, flood control, stream bank stabilization and sponsorship of local water and wastewater projects designed to further economic development in the Red River Basin. Public services are divided into three branches for greater flexibility and efficiency.
GENERAL SERVICES BRANCH
General Services Division
Research and Development
Department of Information Resources
Data Management Systems
Geographic Information Systems
FISCAL SERVICES BRANCH
General Accounting Department
Financial Services Division
Communications Division
GENERAL OPERATIONS BRANCH
Utility Services Division
Environmental Services Division
Maintenance Division
For over half a century, the Authority has served the public in the areas of research, planning, design, permit acquisition, development, treatment and distribution of surface water and groundwater, treatment and disposal of municipal and industrial wastewater, and environmental protection through pollution abatement and control.
The Authority has issued over $489 million of its tax-exempt contract revenue bonds to provide financial assistance to public entities throughout the Red River Basin. Unless otherwise directed by separate contract, ownership and control of the facilities financed through the Authority are retained by the individual entity requesting financial assistance.
The Authority maintains a competent staff of professionals and consultants with the available expertise to assist any size entity with their water resource management and operational needs, and currently serves 31 rural water systems within the Red River Basin.
Other public services available through the Authority consist of administrative and technical support in areas of:
Information resources management
Computer aided design and drafting
Digital cartographic mapping
Electronic data processing and management
Public facility planning and project management
Pollution control planning and permitting
Supervised control and data acquisition
Water quality planning and management
Water quality laboratory services
River flood stage monitoring