Premium

BlueOval City megasite authority plans to protect Memphis aquifer

By , Daily Memphian Updated: July 27, 2025 6:59 PM CT | Published: July 23, 2025 5:32 PM CT

The Megasite Authority of West Tennessee on Wednesday, July 23, approved a plan to protect the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which is underneath the megasite — home to Ford Motor Co.‘s $5.6 billion BlueOval City.

Ford’s electric vehicle truck and battery plant anticipates pumping several million gallons of water daily from the aquifer during peak operations.

Approval of the “Wellhead Protection Plan” is the culmination of years of negotiations between Protect Our Aquifer, the University of Memphis Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research, Ford and the Megasite Authority.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.

Topics

Memphis Sand aquifer Protect Our Aquifer Megasite Authority of West Tennessee BlueOval City Subscriber Only

Thank you for being a subscriber to The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization with a hybrid business model, we rely on a mix of revenue from subscriptions (50%), advertising, events and miscellaneous earned income (25%) and fundraising (25%).

Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian today. 

👉 Your subscription pays for you to read all our journalism.

👉 Your donation powers the work we do to reach everyone else with the news.

We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. If you agree, join our growing list of donors now.

Sophia Surrett

Sophia Surrett

Sophia Surrett is a University of Alabama graduate, where she received her B.A. in news media and M.A. in journalism and media studies. She covers small business, nonprofits, restaurant real estate, hospitality and tourism and manufacturing.

Business - Ford Megasite on demand

Sign up to receive Business - Ford Megasite stories as they’re published.

Enter your e-mail address

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Comments

Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here