The Central States Water Resources Company attempting to buy the Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation is backed by private equity interests in New York. They said so at the Town Hall in October.
Private equity firms exist for one reason: to extract money to benefit them. They will be extracting money from this region, paying only a pittance of what WOWSC is really worth.
Private equity firms are increasingly being called out as bad actors in communities across the country, particularly as they go about entering unincorporated areas, like Spicewood, and building data centers, bitcoin mining, and manufacturing.
Part of Windermere’s sale to CSWR would transfer 40 acres east of Exeter to the private equity locusts. They are likely, over time, to transform that land, to a regional water and wastewater processing facility that could service Ridge Harbor, Thomas Ranch and anything that develops west of the donkey farm. There are 250 acres for sale over there. At one time those were going to be 100-200 homes on 1-acre plots. The developer Amir Hirani gave up on that plan when the home market changed in late 2022 and now is selling — to anyone, including private equity locusts.
There is nothing preventing Big-tech firms from buying that land and building data centers or bitcoin mining. They would love to buy processed water from a regional water supplier and CSWR will be happy to sell it to them. Here is what CSWR or any buyer of WOWSC could do with that land, to build the infrastructure needed to supply those firms with water:
If you need more background on how private equity firms are ruining other communities, please look at videos posted below. It’s happening all over. It can happen here. Our WOWSC Board is supporting the potential decimation of your home values if it happens.
All the Board would have to do is put a restriction on what can be done with that land as a condition of sale. They haven’t, but they should. And that is a reason to vote “NO” until they do.
These videos document how profit‑driven investment often leaves long‑term costs for local residents.
Videos about Private Equity, Data Centers, Bitcoin Miners and Water
How Private Equity Consumed America
Blackrock Buying Electricity Plant in Minnesota for AI Data Center
Water, Noise and Energy Consumption by AI Data Centers
Water Usage in Georgia for Data Centers
Noise in Granbury TX from Bitcoin Miner + Water Usage
Why Windermere Oaks Residents Should Care
Across these industries, the playbook is the same:
- Acquire local assets using outside capital.
- Build infrastructure quickly and with disregard for community concerns.
- Leave communities with environmental damage, lost jobs, or weakened infrastructure.
For Spicewood, where our water supply is already threatened by evermore “straws” in Lake Travis, the risks are clear. If firms like Central States Water Resources (CSWR) enter the picture, we could face large-scale, quick build-out with little input, affecting our home values.
Bottom line: Private equity’s track record shows a consistent disregard for community well‑being. Windermere Oaks must learn from these examples and guard against similar exploitation here at home.