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Cameron County says SpaceX’s Starbase must provide water to residents

The county recently ended water deliveries for dozens of properties near SpaceX’s company town in South Texas. A lawmaker calls situation “deeply concerning.”

Published July 28, 2025 at 3:44pm

The South Texas county that’s home to Elon Musk’s SpaceX said the new city of Starbase — not the county — is duty-bound to deliver water to the area’s residents.

For decades, Cameron County trucked in non-potable water to about 40 properties along the state highway between Brownsville and Boca Chica Beach. The desolate stretch where the $400 billion company and its Starship program are headquartered doesn’t have running water.

In recent years, SpaceX has paid to haul in drinking-quality water for its rapidly growing facilities as well as its employees and families living in Starbase. But those unaffiliated with the company are left to fend for themselves — typically hauling in potable water for drinking. The non-SpaceXers depended on the county’s “courtesy” service to meet other water needs.

Those water deliveries were cut off without notice early this month. Since then, company-hired trucks have kept the tanks topped off but the goodwill is fading. Last week, a Starbase leader asked the county to restart water deliveries, saying the abrupt cutoff posed “safety and public health risks.”

The county responded that the responsibility belongs to Starbase because it’s in a better position to supply water to its neighbors.

“Now that Starbase is officially a municipality, it has a duty to provide drinking water to its citizens,” the county said in a statement. “Because Starbase has or will have drinking water for its citizens it is better situated to make connectivity available to nearby individuals.”

SpaceX is working to expand utility infrastructure around Starbase by building a water system and treatment plant, but that’s still in development.

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The county, which does not own or operate a water utility and is not a state-authorized water delivery service, said it provided the non-drinkable water “as a courtesy without any requirement to do so or expectation of reimbursement.” It said that it “is not required to provide non-potable water to anyone living in Cameron County whether it be around the area of Starbase or any other rural area.”

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it does not have jurisdiction over the county’s water delivery service.

A state lawmaker who represents the area said she was working on the issue.

“It’s deeply concerning to hear that some residents in Cameron County are being denied access to water — a basic human necessity,” state Rep. Janie Lopez said in a statement. “Every Texan deserves reliable access to clean water, and I will continue working to ensure entities are held accountable in addressing this urgent issue if they are being neglectful.”

As of Friday evening, Keith Reynolds, who is unaffiliated with SpaceX but lives within the boundaries of Starbase, hadn’t heard anything from the county about water service.

He’d previously said the county and Commissioner Sofia Benavides, who’s precinct includes the area, “decided to leave everybody high and dry without water — didn’t say a word.”