Our water is not for the cloud
The commentary warns that proposed AI data centers in the Big Bend could place severe pressure on scarce groundwater and increase electricity demand. It discusses projects considered near Marfa, Alpine and Pecos County, including a Pacifico Energy campus for Amazon, and calls for stronger state and local safeguards before development proceeds.
The Big Bend Sentinel commentary raises concerns about proposed data center developments in the Trans-Pecos region, particularly their potential groundwater consumption in an area where aquifers refill slowly. Open Origin previously explored an 80,000-acre campus southeast of Marfa that could have used up to 800 acre-feet of water annually, while investors later approached the Presidio Municipal Development District about a complex in Marfa’s industrial zone.
The article also reports that Pacifico Energy, which is developing a gas-fired power plant and Amazon data center campus in Pecos County, met with Brewster County officials about a possible project northeast of Alpine. Brewster County Judge Greg Henington said the county would be highly sensitive to water use. The commentary further cites state actions by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concerning data center grid connections and energy and water-use permits, but argues that executive directives and weak reporting penalties do not provide lasting protection for local water resources.