Abbott orders Texas water agency to penalize data centers that don’t report their water usage
Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to penalize data centers that fail to report their water usage, citing low compliance with state-mandated surveys. This directive aims to improve water planning and ensure data centers contribute to protecting Texas's water resources. Additionally, the governor ordered a separate audit on data centers seeking power grid interconnection, coordinated with the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT, with non-compliant projects facing denial of connection.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a directive to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), instructing the state agency to penalize data centers that do not comply with mandatory water usage reporting. This move comes in response to rapidly increasing water demand from large industrial users, including data centers, and a low compliance rate with the TWDB's annual water usage survey, which saw only about 28-32% participation from surveyed data centers between 2023 and 2025.
The governor emphasized the importance of data centers sharing the responsibility to protect Texas water resources, stating that the Texas Water Code requires complete and accurate water use surveys. While the TWDB previously stated it lacked prosecution authority for the Class C misdemeanor associated with non-compliance, Governor Abbott is pressing the board to use its enforcement authority. He has requested an update on compliance and enforcement from the TWDB by October 14. Temple McKinnon, director of the Water Supply Planning Division at TWDB, noted that submitting survey responses is also a prerequisite for receiving state financial assistance or certain environmental permits.
Data centers can consume millions of gallons of water annually for cooling, and the lack of reporting hinders the state's 50-year water demand projections. The survey targets operating facilities using over 10 million gallons per year, gathering information on annual water volume, source, and on-site power generation. Notable water users mentioned in 2025 survey results include Bitdeer in Rockdale, Google in Midlothian, and QTS and Meta facilities in Fort Worth.
In addition to the water reporting enforcement, Governor Abbott also directed the TWDB to coordinate with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on a separate audit. This audit, ordered in August, aims to collect information on data centers' water consumption, sources, and cooling technologies for projects seeking to connect to the state’s power grid, with non-compliant projects facing denial of interconnection. Ryan Kellus Turner of the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center anticipates increased attention to such regulatory statutes in local courts as public policy on data center development evolves.