The newest piece of infrastructure coming to Starbase, Texas, isn’t a launch mount or a booster. It’s a water pipeline, and the terms of access will shape the definition of a “company town.” The new line, stretching from Brownsville to the newly incorporated city of Starbase, will replace truck-hauled deliveries SpaceX has used to transport potable water for employees and on-site residents.
Brownsville Public Utilities Board COO Mark Dombroski confirmed the pipeline at a July 16 meeting, stating the board had executed a contract with SpaceX to provide water as an in-city customer. The BPUB approved the contract on June 2. Dombroski did not explain why SpaceX is classified as an in-city nonresidential customer, which carries lower rates than outside-city customers, despite the company establishing its own city.
Under a non-standard development agreement, SpaceX will extend—at its own cost—a line to a metering point within city limits, then transport the water to Starbase. The company will also fund and construct the improvements needed for BPUB to deliver water to the meter. This arrangement is intended to replace the water-hauling system once SpaceX begins drawing water through the pipeline. The timeline depends largely on SpaceX’s construction schedule.
Currently, potable water deliveries are capped at 60,000 gallons per day under the hauled-water agreement between BPUB and SpaceX, as noted in a January 2024 letter from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The pipeline would eliminate this constraint, making it easier for SpaceX to expand amenities and housing for employees.
For non-SpaceX-affiliated homes, accessing the water may come with conditions. In July, nearly 40 properties between Brownsville and Boca Chica were abruptly cut off from county water service. Cameron County previously provided water as a courtesy but now claims Starbase is responsible for delivering water to these residents.
Starbase disputes this. City administrator Kent Myers reportedly sent a letter to a Cameron County commissioner, stating the sudden cutoff “poses safety and public health risks.” Starbase, he said, lacks the legal authority and operational capacity to supply water to these residents.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has reportedly circulated an agreement to non-affiliated homes, offering access to Starbase’s water and sewer system in exchange for residents’ agreement to vacate the area during launch, testing, and operational activities. The document clarifies that SpaceX has no obligation to provide water and wastewater services, does not guarantee water quality or quantity, and bars residents from seeking legal or monetary recourse against the company.
Starbase, incorporated in May and governed by SpaceX executives, is a separate municipal entity encompassing the company’s South Texas launch site. Only registered voters within the proposed boundary could vote on incorporation. Of the 247 lots in that boundary, only 10 were not owned by SpaceX.
Even before the vote, SpaceX had been formalizing water provisions for employees and residents. The company established a state-regulated drinking-water system, including a 500,000-gallon storage tank, service pumps, and other infrastructure. This system serves 239 residential connections but remains a private operation, not a public utility.
Starbase’s role is limited by design. The city does not provide utility services—SpaceX does. The Brownsville-Starbase pipeline will feed SpaceX’s private water system, meaning neighbors have no automatic right to access. Any connection would be at SpaceX’s discretion and under its terms.
SpaceX has not obtained a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity, a Texas authorization required to retail water, meaning it has no obligation to serve third parties. The company did not respond to inquiries about whether it plans to add public utilities to its services.
The pipeline addresses SpaceX’s immediate water needs but does not establish a public right to water, leaving neighboring residents in a precarious position.