{"id":32380,"date":"2026-10-04T14:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=32380"},"modified":"2026-10-04T14:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T14:05:35","slug":"a-texas-city-will-pay-at-least-175000-after-the-spacex-site-it-owns-pumped-128-million-gallons-of-groundwater-above-permitted-limits-over-three-years-the-settlement-includes-monitoring-payments-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=32380","title":{"rendered":"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 | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134675744,imgsize-1241040,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/texas.jpg\" alt=\"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\" title=\"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\/Image: Facebook City of McGregor\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"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\/Image: Facebook City of McGregor\">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\/Image: Facebook City of McGregor<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A groundwater dispute involving SpaceX\u2019s 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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The city is responsible for the penalties because it owns the SpaceX site and the wells used by the company.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>The settlement also requires the city to make \u201creasonable efforts to obtain additional sources of water\u201d.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>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.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>McGregor City Manager Kevin Evans said the city was satisfied with the settlement and that SpaceX had already reduced its groundwater consumption at the site.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>\u201cWater will always be an issue. We\u2019re working with SpaceX and everyone else in the industrial park to use less potable water,\u201d Evans said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Evans said SpaceX is also working to reuse water at its McGregor location, while the city is exploring alternative sources. Those options include buying groundwater from other communities or obtaining water from Belton Lake through the Bluebonnet Water Supply Corp., which already serves McGregor residents.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>Evans said he expected the settlement to end the city&#8217;s conflicts with the groundwater district.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>Dispute over how much water remains<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The settlement has also highlighted a disagreement over the long-term condition of the aquifer supplying the area.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>McGregor Mayor Jim Lilley said concerns about groundwater depletion were overstated.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of water in the aquifer,\u201d Lilley said after Monday\u2019s council meeting. He added that the latest overpumping showed there was still substantial water available.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>Rodney Kroll, president of the Southern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, disputed that assessment.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>Kroll said studies of the Southern Trinity Aquifer indicate that it does not recharge. As groundwater is extracted, he said, the water level therefore continues to fall.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>\u201cOur aquifer does not recharge,\u201d Kroll said. \u201cWhat that says ultimately is that the water level is going down annually, and some day, we\u2019ll reach a point where there\u2019s no (ground)water.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>Kroll said that point could come within about 50 years.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/>The countywide groundwater district was established in 2008 after state regulators determined that the area faced \u201ccritical\u201d groundwater shortages in coming decades.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"44\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>Why McGregor is paying<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The financial responsibility has also drawn criticism from residents who argue that SpaceX should bear the cost of the groundwater violations.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>McGregor resident Danny Campbell opposed the settlement at Monday&#8217;s meeting, arguing that SpaceX was the main driver behind the excess pumping but was not responsible for the litigation, fees or legal costs.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/>\u201cSpaceX is the primary driver for overpumping these wells, and they&#8217;re not responsible for the litigation, they&#8217;re not responsible for the fees, and they&#8217;re not responsible for the attorney&#8217;s costs,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cThey&#8217;re not responsible for any of it, and every dollar that goes towards things like this is one dollar taken from our community.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/>Campbell said she had taken out a $1,200 full-page advertisement in the McGregor Mirror to draw attention to the violations and what she described as a lack of transparency in the city&#8217;s handling of the issue.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"56\"\/>Evans said the settlement would not be paid from tax revenue. Instead, the city plans to use money from the sale of city property to cover the penalty.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"58\"\/>With SpaceX having already reduced its groundwater use and McGregor seeking alternative water sources, city officials expect the settlement to resolve the immediate dispute. But the 25-year monitoring commitment means the consequences of the groundwater overpumping will remain part of McGregor&#8217;s water management for decades.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/a-texas-city-will-pay-at-least-175000-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\/articleshow\/134675511.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\/Image: Facebook City of McGregor A groundwater dispute involving SpaceX\u2019s sprawling Texas operations has left the city of McGregor facing at least [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"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\/Image: Facebook City of McGregor A groundwater dispute involving SpaceX\u2019s sprawling Texas operations has left the city of McGregor facing at least [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/texas.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}