Texas officials informed lawmakers during a state Senate hearing that they seek detailed information on water usage by data centers statewide. However, the absence of a comprehensive mailing list makes it uncertain if they are contacting facility operators correctly or being ignored.
The lack of a definitive contact list complicates data collection on large facilities’ water and power usage for the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). This issue was discussed at the Senate Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs committee, focusing on data centers’ cooling processes.
Non-compliance with TWDB surveys is a misdemeanor in Texas, but enforcement is the responsibility of local district attorneys.
“We just collect information and are aware of who did not respond,” said Temple McKinnon, TWDB’s director of water supply planning.
Connie Corona, executive director of the PUC, emphasized the need for a contact list. Despite confidentiality concerns among operators, Sen. Charles Perry stated that water use must be transparent as it is a public resource.
The industry has faced criticism for not fully disclosing water requirements, leading to discontent among residents and regulators. Texas is adjusting its grid and water planning to accommodate the expanding data center fleet. New legislation regulating data centers is anticipated in the upcoming session, with potential implications for Texas’ midterm elections.
Governor Greg Abbott recently halted new data center grid connections pending an audit on projects’ viability and community impact.
The TWDB sent mandatory surveys to 341 data center operators in January, with follow-ups until July. By August 26, only 30% had responded, according to McKinnon.
The 2025 survey reached over 4,700 municipal water systems and 3,200 industrial users, aiding water demand projections drafted every five years. Data centers were queried on power generation, water procurement, supply source, and annual usage but not on cooling technologies or fuel types.
Senators were concerned that over 200 operators failed to respond. They discussed enforcement options, such as requiring survey responses before water connection.
“We have potentially 200 entities out there that are kind of in the Wild West,” stated state Sen. César Blanco.
Due to low past survey responses, TWDB partnered with PUC in 2025 to gather information from both planned and operational data centers.
This year, the agencies issued a joint survey from April to July. Among 155 respondents, three-quarters were data centers, with nearly 60% concentrated in five counties.
In the survey, 81 facilities reported nearly 1.3 billion gallons of total water intake, with 964 million being potable water—crucial for existing and planned centers.
Most respondents use non-evaporative cooling, less water-intensive but more energy-demanding. These systems utilize a closed-loop system, contrasting with evaporative cooling, which needs constant water replenishment.
In 2025, 12 evaporatively cooled facilities used approximately 29 million gallons of water, while 45 non-evaporatively cooled projects used nearly 8 million gallons. Facilities using evaporative cooling consumed nearly four times more water per megawatt hour, according to PUC analysis.
The analysis, based on 57 facilities, offers a directional insight rather than definitive for data centers and cryptomines, said Chris Brown, PUC’s data analysis program manager.
Cooling prevents data center chips from overheating, crucial as power demands increase for developing artificial intelligence. Vaibhav Bahadur, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin, noted significant power requirements for microprocessors.
Bahadur suggested the state needs better data for accurate water usage assessment and advocated for alternative water sources. The industry is exploring using groundwater and oil and gas industry wastewater, with significant volumes available in the Permian Basin.
“I think this is something that needs a more serious consideration because it can be a meaningful solution to the water issues of data centers,” Bahadur noted.
Sen. Perry emphasized reducing water waste through evaporative cooling. “That won’t be allowed coming out of the next session. I promise,” he said.
Large operators like QTS Data Centers and Google expressed interest in using oil and gas well-produced water. Ben Townsend, Google’s head of infrastructure and sustainability, highlighted the energy efficiency of evaporative cooling using non-drinking water sources.
“It’s about asking: What type of water are you using?” Townsend stated. “Where is it coming from? What is the impact today, tomorrow?”
Sen. Adam Hinojosa suggested considering curtailment plans for large data centers, similar to recent power grid requirements, an idea PUC’s Corona believes the Legislature might explore.
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org