Who Owns the Water? Temple Reassures Public on Synergy Well Rights

Temple City Council held a meeting to address increasing public inquiries about the ownership and control of the Synergy groundwater well, located in southeast Temple near land held by Rowan data center. The city is moving forward with an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) program to strengthen the region's drought response, with the Synergy well being a key component.

The 2022 economic development agreement between Temple and Rowan (formerly Temple Green Data) revealed that Rowan initially financed the well's construction to support a proposed $225 million data facility. The city agreed to reimburse Rowan up to $4.8 million for public infrastructure, including the well, in exchange for water service access.

However, Rowan confirmed to KCEN that the data center project was repurposed into a commercial warehouse as it no longer aligned with the agreement's scope. Additionally, the company's adoption of closed-loop cooling systems reduced water demands, making the dedicated groundwater well unnecessary for their needs.

Temple City Manager Brynn Myers reassured residents during the City Council session that the city owns the well and all associated water rights, as Rowan's agreement was to build and dedicate it as public infrastructure. Myers emphasized that any utility rights held by commercial developers remain strictly governed by city utility service agreements. The city now intends to use the Synergy well as the primary foundation for its ASR system, which involves injecting treated drinking water into aquifers during surplus and retrieving it during droughts, pending an operating permit from the Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District.