Water use for Tesla's GigaTexas
in far, far east Austin jumped more
than 200 million gallons in two
years.
That's raising concerns about
whether Austin can fulfill its
long-term water conservation goals
as plans for a new semiconductor
plant could push demand even higher.
And a state district judge has
ordered Camp Mystic not to alter,
demolish, repair or remove
structures affected by floodwaters.
27 people died at the girls' camp
during last summer's deadly flood in
the Texas Hill Country.
The latest updates coming up
on today's show.
The Austin Signal is a production
of KUT News, hosted by
Jerry Quijano.
Plus, Fusebox Festival continues
through the weekend, and the Austin
Symphony is doing something new,
teaming up with an indie rock
band. We're gonna hear a little
preview of that performance.
Those stories coming up next,
right here on Austin Signal.
Howdy out there, this is Austin
Signal. It is Thursday, April
16th.
I'm your host, Jerry Keconnell.
Thank you for making us part of
your afternoon.
We hope you're having a nice one out
there. Glad you're here.
With community powered public radio,
this KUT News.
A Travis County judge ruled Thursday
that Camp Mystic cannot use the
cabins or structures damaged by the
2025 floods in order
to preserve evidence in the ongoing
civil suits for the parents of
victims.
For more about that, we are speaking
with KUT's Kaylee Hunt,
who has been at the courthouse all
week long, watching this hearing
unfold.
Kaylee, thanks for joining us here
on the show.
Hey Jerry, thanks for having me.
So the hearing started Monday.
What was the atmosphere like in the
courtroom? Can you describe it for
us a little bit because there wasn't
much recording allowed, right?
Yeah, that's right.
So this actually, there were so many
people that wanted to attend this
hearing and all the testimony that
happened that they had to move it
to a larger courtroom.
So we were in the ceremonial Travis
County courtroom.
And yeah, it was
very crowded.
On one side, you know, you had a lot
of supporters and members of
the Eastland family, the owners of
Camp Mystic.
And then on the other side, You had
the parents,
family members of...
Seal Stewart, the eight-year-old
girl at the center of this hearing
and case that was one of the victims
of the flooding last summer.
And you had several members
of other families as well whose
daughters were victims of the flood.
One of the significant things about
this hearing was the amount of
details that a lot of people got to
hear for the first time about that
night from folks who were actually
there.
What were some of the details that
stood out to you?
Yeah, so we heard lots
of testimony from the camp's
directors, as well as a
night watchman who was
awake and, you know, on
the grounds at the time of
the flooding.
And I do want to point out to
one piece of
testimony that occurred.
It was particularly moving and
very emotional when it happened.
And it came in an exchange between
the Howard's attorney,
Christina Yarnell.
And Mary Liz Eastland,
who was the camp's chief health
officer.
You knew the property, you knew the
flood lines, you know, you knew
access points, your children
knew them.
And these were first year
campers.
You had 34 more
years of experience been sealed.
She needed your help and
you abandoned her didn't you?
So we know that the Stewart family
was asking to preserve the evidence
of these structures that were
damaged by the floods.
What was Camp Mystic's arguments
against that?
Yeah, they want to preserve that
evidence as they move forward with
this civil case accusing
negligence.
But yeah, Camp Mystic argued that
it was essentially that
the stewards and their attorneys as
well as other families have had
ample time at this point to
go ahead and go out to the property
and collect that evidence.
They say they've done been nothing
but cooperative with law enforcement
and with attorneys from
these girls and their families
who are suing.
So that was their argument.
They also said that, you know, there
were some folks that were displaced
ultimately by this order and
that they want to renovate and get
ready for camp in
the summer.
And uh... This this hearing was
going on for the first three days of
this week uh...
What did the judge ultimately
decide?
Yeah, so the state
district judge here in Austin,
she ultimately cited
with the Stewart's family and
their attorneys. She chose to
uphold an order
that essentially does
not allow Camp Mystic
to use those structures
and cabins and grounds that were
affected by the floods.
If they were to reopen it this
summer, they cannot be altered.
Damaged, remodeled, removed in any
way, those need to be preserved as
of right now for evidence.
So a lot of interest in
this story, as you mentioned,
at this courthouse hearing in
particular.
What happens moving forward from
here?
Can Camp Mystic still appeal this
most recent ruling?
Yeah. And in fact, they actually
have a pending appeal
in the Third Court of Appeals
Court here in Austin.
And that actually stems from
that initial order that came from
the state district judge telling
them to preserve those cabins as
evidence.
So yeah, that appeal is still in
process and there are some
deadlines that are coming up next
week. So we should expect
Alrighty, well that is KUT's
Kaylee Hunt. She has been covering
that Camp Mystic hearing happening
this week in Austin.
Kaylee, thanks for coming on the
show.
Thanks, Jerry.
The City of Austin's long-term water
conservation goals are in question
as water usage at Tesla's Giga
Texas increased more than 60%
in the past two years.
The plant's treated water usage came
in at more than 200 million gallons.
That's from 2023 to 2025.
And with plans advancing on a new
semiconductor factory in Eastern
Travis County, that number is
expected to increase.
That reporting comes from Sam Stark,
Austin Current's government
reporter. He is joining us now on
the show. Hi Sam, thanks for coming
back. Thanks for having me.
So can you tell us about Austin's
initial water conservation goals?
These were voted on by the city a
couple years ago, I suppose.
Yeah, so in 2018, the city
pushed forward with its Water
Forward Plan, which is
essentially this working group that
works to look at
Austin's water supply for the next
100 years.
And they actually update the water
plan every five years, taking into
account larger consumers
of water as more technology
and companies move into Austin.
OK, so these
plans look like now that they
could possibly be upended by
two separate Elon Musk facilities
here in Travis County.
Can you tell us more about those
facilities?
Yeah, so when
they initially went on, it
wasn't that big of an issue.
So when the Gigafactory was built in
2020, later opening in 2022,
they applied for a service extension
request with Austin Water, which
ultimately was granted.
What has people on this
or a couple of the environmentalists
on the board who I spoke to
concerned is just how much
the water use has increased in
just two years.
So, the Tesla Gigafactory
was number five.
In 2023.
It went up to the
third highest user
of treated water
in Austin.
So one person I spoke to was
just like, we can't really
take someone who's rapidly
growing this much.
But the bigger concern comes
with what might come in the future.
So in March, Elon Musk
announced this new semiconductor
factory called Terafab.
Which would just make chips
for all of his expanding,
you know, technology portfolio.
But these plants require a
great deal of water.
I talked to one professor who said,
a typical North American one
requires 1 million to 2 million
gallons of water a day.
But Musk called this one the most
epic chip factory in
history.
And so an environmentalist I spoke
to was worried that that might
require 10 to 15 million
gallons water idea.
An epic amount of water for an epic
project. That's right.
That's right. What have you heard
from the city about this?
So I spoke to one council
member, council member Ryan Alter,
and you know, they talked about this
tension that exists in central
Texas of wanting, you
know economic growth, wanting these
big opportunities to further
solidify Austin's reputation as a
technology hub.
But they also acknowledge the
fact that water is a top concern
in our city.
So I think that they
are you know, not ruling
this out. I think that they might be
a little bit excited about it, but
they want to work with this
company to see, you know how
they can conserve water, how maybe
they could offer some incentives
like improving water
infrastructure, things like that.
Yeah, water is always a big concern
here in Travis County, really for
all our counties in central Texas.
With that in mind, has Tesla had
anything to say about their water
usage, their increasing?
Water usage?
No, I mean, Tesla is has a
reputation of not, you know, always
responding to the media.
I did reach out asking about their
conservation practices,
why they think that this increase
happened.
I did not get a response back.
But I do know that, you know,
these companies, they they require a
lot of water, there's a lot of
washing, they have to ensure all
these parts are clean, because any
sort of impurity can cause a defect
in the technology.
What are you watching for next in
this story? What are continuing to
report on?
You know, just the plans for
this semiconductor factory have
not been finalized yet.
I think we should see some documents
going through either
the Travis County Commissioner's
Court or the Austin City Council
pretty soon here.
And so once those are filed,
we'll have a better sense of how
much water this factory will
need and how big it might be.
All right, we have been speaking
with Sam Stark.
He's the government reporter at
Austin Current.
They are KUT and Austin Signal's
partner in covering the city of
Austin. Sam, always great to talk
with you. Yeah, thanks so much.
And we have done a little bit of
reporting here on Austin Signal
about that terafab factory.
We spoke with Shelly Brisman of the
Texas Standard. You can find that
episode at kut.org
slash signal.
And as always, you can find more
from the reporting that we share
with you in the episodes.
In the podcast show
notes.
Coming up after the break, we got
a lot of arts to share with you, a
little bit of Texas music history,
but we let you know earlier in the
week about Fusebox Festival.
We had a conversation with the
co-director of the festival.
Coming up, we're going to share an
audio preview of one of
the performances happening with
Dirty Projectors and the Austin
Symphony.
That is coming up right
after this break.
It's right here on community-powered
public radio KUT News.
You're listening to Austin
Signal.
This is Austin Signal, welcome back,
thank you for making us part of your
day. Now we've got some Texas
music history to listen back on
this week, and as always we're led
by Jason Mellard from the Center for
Texas Music History at Texas State
University.
Today we have got the story of
a music venue that boomed
with the region and the Texans
around it.
This week in Texas music history,
Maddie Castleberry opens a thriving
dance hall drilling into the East
Texas oil boom.
With the discovery of the East Texas
Oil Field in 1930, the region
saw a population surge almost
overnight.
Local Maddie Castelberry recognized
a business opportunity and opened
Maddie's Ballroom on April 19th,
1931, strategically positioned
on a highway between Longview and
Kilgore.
The original building was a modest
wood structure among pine trees,
offering entertainment to oil
barons, derrick hands, and local
youth. On a typical night, one might
see anything from German polka to
big band swing to square dancing at
Maddie's.
Simultaneously, Maddie found herself
involved in another legendary Texas
dance hall, the Paul Mile, which
opened its doors outside Longview in
1935.
Initially a business venture for
three entrepreneurs hoping to
capitalize on the region's recent
population spike, the club boasted a
1,600 square foot hardwood floor,
one of the state's biggest.
The Paul Mile's owner leased the
club to Maddie in 1942 after he
was drafted in World War II.
She briefly operated both venues but
made the difficult decision to close
Maddie's Ballroom in 1943 and
focus on the bustling Palm Isle.
Bands that frequented the Palm Isles
in that period included Glenn
Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Ella
Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Bob
Wills.
Maddie sold the Palm Isle in 1948.
In 1951, new owners rechristened
the venue as the Rio Palm Isles,
still there, and turned to country
acts like Ray Price, Jim Reeves,
Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and
even Elvis Presley.
Maddie Castleberry's chapter in the
venue may have closed, but her
example of women's The newer ship in
East Texas remains a source of local
legend.
You can hear music from the Lone
Star State 24-7 on the
Texas Music Experience at TMX.fm.
The Austin Symphony Orchestra
will perform tonight with the indie
rock band Dirty Projectors out
at the Long Center.
It's just one of many performances
featured as part of this weekend's
Fusebox Festival.
As Maya Fawaz reports for KUT's
Artbeat, the performance helps show
how classical music can
adapt.
It's been 54 days
since these words were spoken
here in Austin.
And I don't wanna be working in
ballet or opera or
things where it's like, hey, keep
this thing alive even though no
one cares about this anymore.
That's award-winning actor, Timothy
Chalamet.
There's been a lot of backlash.
And unfortunately, the conversation
has grouped in all of
the performing arts as dying,
including symphonies.
We are often playing music
that is 400 years
old.
That's Justice Zimmerman.
He's the CEO of the Austin Symphony
Orchestra.
As an orchestra, we have to be
careful not to get sucked into
the sands of history and make sure
that we're moving forward and
creating a living, breathing art
form.
He says, what Chalamet brought up
is kind of true.
There is a feeling of adapt or
die for the arts, but not
necessarily for the Austin Symphony.
They've been adapting and pushing
the envelope, and part of that is
this upcoming performance with the
band Dirty Projectors.
Indie rock, new music,
new classical music.
He says the Austin Symphony has
never done anything like this
before.
And the newness doesn't stop there.
Dirty Projectors are also switching
things up.
Here's a song from their album, Bida
Orca. It was released in 2009.
["Bida Orka"] And
here's a from their latest album,
Song of the Earth.
Summer
and they'll be playing songs from
this album with the symphony
live on stage tonight.
Chant-a-ta-ta, chant-a ta-ta ta,
so
I'm going to be at a drum set, but
I'm also going to have a giant bass
drum next to me
and wood chimes and
stuff like that.
That's Ian Frye.
He's a percussionist with the Austin
Symphony.
And he says the percussion part will
be pretty difficult.
There's a couple of sections where
you have to go like
digga digga, digga-digga, and then
hit two hands at the same time.
That's the most technical point
right there.
Normally in an orchestra the
percussion is all the way in the
back because it's bulky and
it's loud But for this show with
dirty projectors, it's gonna be
front and center They want
you to see how intricate all the
parts are
When you think of a big orchestra,
you think of dozens and
dozens of string players.
And if you're one in a dozen
or so violinists, you're
all working together to create
a single sound.
But for this album, Song of the
Earth, there will be way fewer
instruments.
So each musician up there is going
to be really carrying their
own sound all by themselves.
So, it's going to really be
dramatic, I think.
The preparation for this show has
been scattered, in different rooms,
different cities.
This is from a rehearsal with
percussionists in LA last week.
Oh, it's sounding beautiful.
And that's David Longstrith.
He founded Dirty Projectors in 2002,
and he composed the album,
Song of the Earth.
Which is the piece we're gonna be
performing in Austin.
He says the inspiration for the
album came during the
COVID lockdown.
The original germ of a lot of this
music came from that
strange, suspended
place.
You probably remember.
When the weeks slipped into each
other, our memories grew hazy.
We lost track of the days,
of ourselves.
A lot of us felt sort of
floating or like
estranged from
what had been
our prior routines
and selves.
On top of that, 2020 brought
record-setting wildfires to
the state of California.
At one point when
my wife was pregnant,
the smoke in our neighborhood was
like very inescapable.
It was an experience that really,
really made a big impression
on both of us.
And Longstrith wanted to
distill all those feelings,
that relationship with nature and
with things out of our control into
music.
We're at the mercy of Earth.
We have this fantasy of having
created a civilization on top
of it, but perhaps
that is all a little bit more
tenuous and fragile
than we might have imagined.
So the album has moments
of wonder and mystery.
There's a sense of
rest and
relief and
solace that you can experience
in the natural world.
And there's also anger, lots
of anger.
Foreboding, danger.
Concern.
Exciting?
He says there's so much beauty
you can experience through sound,
that it has the power to connect
people in a physical space and
emotionally, despite
it being completely invisible.
Art is art is pointless
you know um
we have to choose it
And I'm so, yeah,
excited that Austin is choosing
this.
Each instrument will get tuned.
It will find the right notes.
There will be all these moving
pieces going in their own direction,
unnecessary chaos,
before the individuals become
a collective,
breathing the same tempo.
The symphony is not dying,
it's evolving, and very
much alive.
For KT's Art Beat, I'm Maia Fawaz
in Austin.
That is it for today's
show. Thank you, as always, for
tuning in. We're going to have links
to the stories we shared in
today's episode in the podcast show
notes. And there's always more from
us, like an interview with the
co-director of Fusebox Festival.
You can find that at kut.org
slash signal.
Rayna Sevilla is our technical
director. Welcome back, Ray.
Kristen Cabrera is our managing
producer.
And I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
Thank you for choosing to spend part
of your day here with us.
We'll be back at the same time
tomorrow and we'll talk to you then.