Abbott orders water-use audits for data centers
Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to enforce stricter water-use reporting requirements for major users, including data centers, and to conduct audits. This move aims to protect Texas's water resources and inform a statewide water plan, with penalties for non-compliance.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a directive to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), ordering them to identify major water users, rigorously enforce state water-use reporting requirements, and impose penalties on entities that fail to comply with state law. The governor emphasized that data centers must share the responsibility of protecting Texas's water resources.
Under Abbott's order, the TWDB will also collaborate with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit water-use data specifically from data centers. The collected data is crucial for developing a comprehensive statewide water plan to address Texas's future water needs. Failure to submit required water-use surveys could lead to criminal penalties and render entities ineligible for permits or renewals from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
This announcement follows a prior directive from Governor Abbott to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT, instructing them to conduct a thorough audit of all data centers currently undergoing ERCOT's interconnection process. The TWDB is expected to provide an update on its enforcement progress to the Governor's office within 30 days.