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Water association: State acts as Tesla spokesperson against public interests
In the conflict over the water supply for the electric car manufacturer Tesla in Grünheide, crucial questions remain unresolved ahead of a meeting of the Strausberg-Erkner Water Association (WSE). Will Elon Musk's company forego water quotas from the first expansion phase, thereby making more water available for new settlements in the Berlin metropolitan area? Is there a solution in the dispute over threshold values for wastewater discharged by Tesla, which the company has not adhered to? This issue has led to a division within the association.
After an association meeting of the 16 member municipalities in March, a resolution proposed by the association's chairman to stop the acceptance of wastewater due to exceeded threshold values was postponed. The chairman of the association assembly, Henryk Pilz, subsequently resigned. Tesla had previously warned the WSE in a letter against a disposal stop. The next association meeting on April 16 will address both personnel matters and future dealings with Tesla. According to the WSE, the wastewater threshold values were established by a contract signed by Tesla and must be adhered to. Exceedances have been observed since 2022 and have been acknowledged by Tesla. However, according to the WSE, there has been no response or corresponding changes to comply with the threshold values.
At the same time, the association renewed its criticism of the perceived lack of support from the state government. When the company was settled, the state failed to consider the water supply for the entire region, said association chairman André Bähler to the German Press Agency. "The state acts as a spokesperson for Tesla and against the interests of its population, which is hard to understand." Development plans for schools, daycare centers, and commercial areas, for instance, can currently be implemented only to a limited extent due to Tesla's water supply. The WSE is repeatedly being pushed into a political corner where it does not belong as a supplier.
A Persistent Issue for Years
Water has been an ongoing contentious issue for years. Environmentalists have significant concerns because the plant is partly located in a water protection area. Tesla wants to expand production without using more water. Additionally, the company is planning an expansion of the site. A clear majority of Grünheide residents spoke out against the development plan. A draft for a revised B-plan is now available, over which the community still has to vote. The Water Association WSE is against an expansion because, in its view, it cannot be reconciled with the designated water protection area. However, it suggests using areas outside the drinking water protection zone.
The WSE supplies 170,000 people in its association area. Since September 2020, it has also been supplying Tesla's Gigafactory with drinking water and disposing of its wastewater. WSE has a supply contract with Tesla, which currently provides for the delivery of up to 1.8 million cubic meters of water annually. This corresponds to about one-fifth of the current drinking water extraction of the water association.
The water extraction quantities approved by the state have already been exhausted. Therefore, it is necessary to see how the supply can be increased, said Bähler. This message has been tried to be conveyed for years. As a supplier, one must think very long-term in terms of public service. However, the state government is blocking communal development through "bureaucratic maneuvers and lack of support."
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