What happened
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Water Development Board to penalize data centers that fail to report their water usage. The directive comes after state records showed that most facilities have ignored the mandatory survey for years. Less than 30 percent of data centers responded to the state's water usage survey last year, with response rates as low as 28 percent over the past three years.
The Texas Water Development Board has been surveying data centers and other industrial facilities every year since 2020, asking for monthly water use figures. However, the agency has limited enforcement authority and relies on local officials to prosecute non-compliant facilities. The board will now work to compel all water users to comply with the survey requirements.
The survey is used to gather information on water consumption, including annual water volume, water source, and power generation. The data is used to develop a state water plan that meets the needs of Texans. The number of data centers under review has grown significantly, with 329 facilities surveyed last year, and only 30 percent responding.
The largest water users among data centers in the state include facilities owned by Bitdeer, Google, QTS, and Meta. These facilities are primarily located in North Texas, where water use is highest. The governor has also directed the Texas Water Development Board to work with other agencies to audit data centers seeking to connect to the power grid, with projects that fail the audit to be denied grid interconnection.
