Austin, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Development Board to penalize data centers that fail to submit legally required water-use reports, citing concerns that incomplete information is undermining long-term planning as the industry rapidly expands across the state.
Texas law requires surveyed industrial users, including data centers, to return water-use information to the agency. Failure to comply can result in a Class C misdemeanor and can also make companies ineligible for certain state funding or water permits. Abbott instructed the board to pursue past violations and impose consequences for future failures.
Compliance has been low. The Texas Tribune reported that fewer than 30% of surveyed data centers have responded in recent years, even as the number of facilities tracked by the state has grown sharply. Water planners use the information to project demand and develop Texas’ long-term water strategy.
Data centers can consume large amounts of water for cooling and other operations. Texas now has hundreds of existing or proposed facilities, with particularly heavy development in North Texas.
Abbott also ordered the water board to coordinate with the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT on a separate review of data centers seeking connections to the state power grid. That audit will examine water consumption, supply sources and water-efficient technologies. Projects that fail to complete the process can be denied grid interconnection.
The governor requested a progress report from the Water Development Board by Oct. 14.
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