How much water does SpaceX need to operate near Brownsville? Nearly 20x its current use

A Space Exploration Technologies Corp. executive told Brownsville City Commissioners this month that the company estimates it will need about 2 million gallons of potable water each day for its industrial operations and for Starbase residents. 

That is 19.7 times what SpaceX purchased from the Brownsville Public Utilities Board in fiscal year 2025. And even with the utility company’s planned expansions, SpaceX alone would require about 4.7% of the municipal provider’s water supply, according to an analysis by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. 

SpaceX is the unidentified industrial customer in the Brownsville Public Utilities Board’s annual financial report, a key document the municipality uses to prove it has a business model to repay any bond issuances and other purposes. 

For the past decade, SpaceX has invested billions of dollars in the new city of Starbase, the rocket launch pad, a corporate office building, and manufacturing operations.