ROBSTOWN, Tx — Nueces County Drainage District No. 2 is raising concerns after discovering Tesla has been discharging wastewater into a ditch it maintains without their knowledge, according to drainage district officials.
The issue came to light when drainage district workers went out to perform routine maintenance on a ditch and discovered a pipe discharging what they described as dark water, Steve Ray, a consultant for the drainage district, told KRIS 6 News.
"It was very dark and murky. I would say it was actually black," Ray said. "We're used to seeing good running water, and so we didn't know exactly what it was."
The pipe runs from Tesla's lithium refinery in Robstown, which produces battery-grade lithium for electric vehicle batteries, according to Ray and documents obtained by KRIS 6 News. The facility, which broke ground in May 2023 and began operations in December 2024, is the first of its kind in North America.
Tesla holds a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on January 15, 2025. The permit authorizes Tesla to discharge up to 231,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day into an unnamed ditch that flows to Petronila Creek.
However, the permit specifically states: "The issuance of this permit does not grant to the permittee the right to use private or public property for conveyance of wastewater along the discharge route."
Tesla never sought permission to run a pipe across the drainage district's easement or notified the district of the discharge, according to Ray and Frank Lazarte, the attorney for Nueces County Drainage District No. 2.
"We should have known," Ray said. "Our guys should not have had to go out there to do their work, and then all of a sudden be met with that without us being able to have some sort of response."
Ray said the drainage district discovered the discharge when workers went to clean brush and vegetation from the ditch to ensure proper water flow in case of flooding.
Lazarte said that the lack of notification creates operational and safety concerns.
"With the pipeline going through the easement, with us bringing heavy equipment in there, how far down deep is that pipeline? Where is the exact track of that pipeline?" Lazarte said. "Those are the concerns that I have, so that we can monitor where we put our equipment at and we don't cause a bigger problem."
The drainage district is responsible for maintaining ditches throughout the area to ensure proper water flow during floods, according to Ray.
Ray said workers need to know what they're dealing with when they encounter water in the ditches.
"If our guys go in there and all of a sudden they're met with a big pool of dirty black water, they know to get away from there because we don't know what the situation is with that," he said.
Tesla has provided the drainage district with test results and the drainage district is reviewing those reports, Ray said. However, he said those reports are difficult to interpret and the district plans to conduct its own independent water testing.
"We're working on trying to find someone to go out and take a sample and then send that out for an independent analysis," Ray said.
Ray said the wastewater is currently pooling in one area and has not yet flowed into Petronila Creek. However, he expressed concern about what could happen if large volumes were discharged.
"We don't want anything going into Baffin Bay. We don't want anything going into Petronila Creek that would be detrimental to the people of this area," Ray said.
Petronila Creek flows into Baffin Bay, a critical ecosystem that has been the subject of environmental concerns in the past.
When asked whether the ditch was designed to handle the 231,000 gallons per day allowed under Tesla's permit, Ray said, "I'm sure it wasn't. I think that's probably what the number that they have on the permit, but if we put that much in there, we would really have an issue."
In a January 26, 2026, letter to the drainage district commissioners obtained by KRIS 6 News, Tesla Senior Manager Jason Bevan acknowledged that an agenda item regarding Tesla's wastewater operations had been scheduled for a drainage district meeting.
Bevan wrote that Tesla would not be able to have a representative attend the meeting but wanted "to understand any concerns the District may have concerning the facility's wastewater discharge."
6 Investigates reached out to Tesla last week, but it has not responded to requests for comment.
Ray said the drainage district supports having Tesla in the community but wants to ensure proper protocols are followed.
"We're all for Tesla being there. We're all for industry, but what we aren't for is for putting anyone at risk," Ray said.
He said Tesla has been responsive since the drainage district raised concerns.
"I will say that Tesla has been at least responsive to our requests," Ray said.
The drainage district and Tesla are scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the situation, according to Ray and Lazarte.
Lazarte said they plan to coordinate with Tesla on cleaning out the ditch, which has overgrown vegetation.
"There's growth on the ditches that needs to be cleaned, but we have to move in there with heavy equipment and we want to make sure we don't rupture a pipeline," Lazarte said.
Ray said the drainage district may contact TCEQ about the situation after reviewing all the documentation and test results.
"We were waiting for this report to come back before we contacted them, but we do have that on our agenda to make sure that we get in touch with them as soon as we know exactly what the results were," Ray said.
Ray said the drainage district's message to the community is that they are working to ensure safety.
"We're working every day at this drainage district to make sure that the people that we serve are safe," he said. "Had there been flooding at this time, we would not have known what we're facing with this water. That could have been a big issue."
