Massive Water Leak at Bitcoin Mining Site Wastes Millions of Gallons while Schools, offices, Businesses across El Reno Were Forced To Close.
A massive water leak at a Bitcoin mining facility in El Reno, Oklahoma, wasted millions of gallons of water over two days, forcing schools, offices and businesses across the city to close while crews searched for the source.
The leak affected the city of roughly 20,000 residents and was eventually traced to a private fire hydrant on the property of a Bitcoin mining operation. The hydrant was reportedly unknown to city officials, was not listed in municipal records and had been concealed beneath a large pile of brush.
The property, owned by Athlon BT, had previously been ordered to stop construction after city officials cited electrical, construction and fire-safety violations. That stop-work order was issued in June 2023, but the city says it failed to follow up after giving the company until December 2023 to address the violations.
El Reno has since condemned the property, issued a 10-day abatement notice and scheduled an administrative hearing for September 14, 2026.
Questions over the city’s handling of its own orders
City officials say the water did not come from cooling equipment at the facility but from a private fire-protection line connected to the undisclosed hydrant.
According to reports, Athlon had previously told the city that its mining equipment was air-cooled and therefore would not require water for cooling. The line that leaked was reportedly intended solely for fire protection.
Interim El Reno City Manager Ken Brown said approximately 3.8 million gallons of water were ultimately lost, revising an earlier estimate of around three million gallons.
The property is owned by Athlon BT, which Canadian County assessor records describe as operating data centers for AI storage and Bitcoin mining. The site’s structures are listed as mobile mining containers.
The company identifies itself as Athlon Blockchain Technology Corporation. Its website has recently been unavailable, displaying a scheduled-maintenance message, as questions continue to mount over the facility and the circumstances surrounding the leak.
There is also an apparent contradiction worth noting. Before the website went offline, Athlon advertised both air-cooled and “hydro-cooled” solutions. That does not by itself establish that water cooling was involved in the El Reno leak, but it raises additional questions about the company’s infrastructure and operations.
An unrecorded hydrant hidden on the property
The hydrant at the center of the incident was reportedly installed without notifying the city. It did not appear in municipal records and was eventually discovered beneath a substantial pile of brush.
Brown said the city issued a stop-work order in June 2023 after identifying electrical, construction and fire-safety violations, as well as expired building and electrical permits.
Athlon was given until December 2023 to comply. According to city officials, however, no meaningful follow-up occurred after that deadline.
The city now believes the company continued construction and may have begun operating without obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
The situation has raised broader questions about how a facility could continue operating for years after receiving a stop-work order and how infrastructure connected to the property could be installed without appearing in city records.
Who is responsible for the millions of gallons lost?
El Reno officials have said residents will not be responsible for the costs associated with the incident.
Instead, the city plans to bill the property owner for the water lost, as well as overtime and equipment costs associated with locating and repairing the leak.
The total financial impact could therefore extend beyond the value of the wasted water, particularly given the emergency response and disruption caused across the city.
Schools, offices and businesses were among those affected while crews worked to identify the source of the leak and protect the city’s water supply.
Questions surrounding Athlon BT
Athlon’s corporate presence has also attracted attention as officials and reporters attempt to determine who is responsible for the facility.
KFOR reporter Spencer Humphrey traced the company to founder and CEO Tony Jiang Shi, a Stanford graduate based in Palo Alto. Shi has also registered several other LLCs, many of which are primarily associated with real estate, according to reporting on the company.
County records list Athlon’s address as a house in El Reno located a few miles from the mining site. The property was reportedly found apparently abandoned, with packages addressed to Shi piled on the porch.
Multiple media outlets have reportedly attempted to contact Athlon and its representatives, but calls and emails have gone unanswered. The company has not publicly issued a statement addressing the water leak.
For now, the city is moving forward with its enforcement actions. The September 14 administrative hearing could provide more information about the facility’s operations, the undisclosed fire-protection infrastructure and why the city’s 2023 stop-work order was never fully enforced.
The incident has left El Reno facing not only the consequences of millions of gallons of wasted water, but also difficult questions about regulatory oversight and how a facility that had been ordered to stop construction was allowed to continue operating.
Source: Yahoo News Edited by Bernie
