Texas senators say they hope to tighten data center water regulations in 2027
Texas senators plan to introduce legislation in 2027 to tighten water regulations for data centers, driven by concerns over high water consumption and limited transparency from developers. State agencies are struggling to collect comprehensive data on water usage, and some companies like Beacon are criticized for non-cooperation, while others like Google, Lancium, and QTS advocate for responsible water use.
Texas senators indicated plans to introduce legislation in the 2027 legislative session aimed at tightening water regulations for data centers. State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), who chairs the Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, announced his intention to file a standalone bill to implement "reasonable, responsible regulatory frameworks" for data center water consumption, emphasizing that water, as a public resource, would not have confidentiality regarding its use.
This move comes amidst growing concerns from Texas residents and conservation groups about the water-intensive nature of some data center technologies. State agencies, including the Texas Water Development Board and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), reported difficulties in tracking water usage, noting that developers are not legally compelled to complete surveys and often cite confidentiality concerns.
During the Sept. 1 hearing, Senator Perry publicly criticized data center developer Beacon, labeling them a "bad actor" for their lack of communication and secrecy, and vowed to take action to prevent their projects. Conversely, representatives from Google, Lancium, and QTS Data Centers testified, highlighting their commitment to responsible water use through advanced technologies like closed-loop cooling systems. Google's head of infrastructure and sustainability, Ben Townsend, stated that all planned Google data centers in Texas would use such systems to eliminate freshwater consumption for cooling.
Gov. Greg Abbott had previously called for new data centers to adopt water-efficient technologies. Chris Brown, the PUC’s data analysis program manager, presented findings showing that while only 15 out of 102 surveyed operational facilities used evaporative cooling, these accounted for nearly half of the total reported water intake. Most operational facilities use non-evaporative methods, and nearly all planned facilities are expected to adopt these, suggesting future growth may be less water-intensive.