> ROFL: world’s richest man sticks small Texas town with $175K water bill

A Texas city will pay at least $175,000 after the SpaceX site it owns pumped 128 million gallons of groundwater above permitted limits over three years; the settlement includes monitoring payments for 25 years


A groundwater dispute involving SpaceX’s sprawling Texas operations has left the city of McGregor facing at least $175,000 in penalties and a 25-year financial commitment after the company pumped 128 million gallons of groundwater above permitted limits from a well owned by the city, as per the The Waco Bridge.McGregor City Council approved a negotiated settlement with the Southern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District on Monday, allowing the city to avoid a potential district court battle over the groundwater violations.

The city is responsible for the penalties because it owns the SpaceX site and the wells used by the company.Under the agreement, McGregor will make a one-time payment of $50,000 by November 1, followed by quarterly payments of $1,250 for the next 25 years. The payments will help fund a new groundwater monitoring system on the well used by SpaceX.The settlement also requires the city to make “reasonable efforts to obtain additional sources of water”.

The groundwater district issued violation notices to both SpaceX and McGregor in each of the past three years over the pumping, which totalled 128 million gallons above the permitted amount.



  The best part is the west Texas Trinity aquifer is almost unique in that it’s not recharging.  It was built up during previous glacial periods and is e stimated to go completely dry within a few decades.