Greg Abbott orders penalties for data centers that skip water reports

Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) on Monday, instructing the agency to penalize data centers that have not complied with mandatory water-use reporting requirements. Abbott's letter to the TWDB stated that data centers throughout Texas "appear to have committed civil and criminal violations" by failing to provide detailed information on their water consumption, as mandated by annual state surveys. Responses for the 2025 survey were due in March, and a June legislative hearing revealed that less than one-third of companies surveyed by the Public Utility Commission of Texas had responded to a separate water-use inquiry.

The Governor's order compels the TWDB to utilize its statutory authority to ensure compliance from major water users and to impose legal consequences for past and future non-compliance. Data centers that fail to report their water use may face ineligibility for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) permits, amendments, or renewals, and could be referred to county or district attorneys.

This directive is part of a broader increase in political pressure to regulate the burgeoning data center industry in Texas. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller previously advocated for a temporary moratorium on new data center development in May, and various counties have also considered local pauses. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have tasked lawmakers with studying the water and energy demands of data centers in preparation for the upcoming legislative session. Abbott's latest order follows an August directive to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit all data centers connected to the state's electricity grid, which also included collecting information on water consumption and supply sources. Abbott has now requested the TWDB collaborate with ERCOT to verify survey responses from data center companies.