Data Centers Stonewall Texas Officials, Refusing to Reveal Massive Water Footprints

The State of Texas isn't having much luck in its efforts to find out how much water will be used by data centers in the state.

Data Center Overload

It is getting to the point in Texas that you have to watch where you step, lest you trip over a data center. According to the Texas Tribune, more than 248 proposed data centers in Texas are putting the state in direct competition with Virginia for the nation's top data center hub. The distinction is being met with anger by Texas residents and anxiety by lawmakers who have no idea of the exact amount of Texas water needed to cool these huge campuses.

Read More: McGregor City Council Reviews Major Data Center Proposals

An Attempt at Transparency Falls Flat

In a bid to secure transparency, state agencies launched a joint study to evaluate how much water and energy these facilities drain from local grids. It isn't going well. At. All. During a legislative hearing this month at the State Capitol, representatives from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) revealed that less than one-third of the data center companies they surveyed bothered to return the questionnaires.

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Lawmakers Criticize Incomplete Findings

The shoddy response did not sit well with members of the House Natural Resources Committee. State Representative Brad Buckley, a Republican from Salado, openly criticized the integrity of the findings, calling the response rate pathetic and warning that bad data leads to a bad study. Buckley said major policy decisions cannot be made without the needed information.

Read More: The Huge Amount of Electricity Used By Central Texas Data Centers

Missing Details on Industrial Operations

The survey wanted details on how the data centers operate. Questions were asked about water consumption amounts, cooling methodologies, power supply configurations, and whether they rely on the main state grid or private, on-site generation like natural gas plants. Out of 92 facilities, the PUC only received responses from 28, a minute fraction of the state’s actual data center landscape. Of the responses, agency staff were unable to clarify how many of those responses came from traditional data centers versus cryptocurrency mining operations.

The Corporate Stance on Proprietary Information

The data centers claim the information cannot be provided due to what they describe as the competitive nature of the business. Dan Diorio, an executive representing the Data Center Coalition trade group, tells the Texas Tribune that future state efforts might see better compliance if agencies aggregate and anonymize the data.

Lax Penalties Fuel Non-Compliance

This trend of industry silence is not new to Texas officials. The TWDB has attempted to collect mandatory water usage records from data centers since 2023, even as their target list grew from 22 to 341 properties. Despite the mandatory label, response rates plummeted from roughly 33% in 2024 to a mere 17% in 2025. This lack of compliance is largely due to the minor penalties; failing to comply is only a Class C misdemeanor carrying a $500 maximum fine. $500 is a drop in the bucket for multi-million-dollar data centers. The latest PUC survey is even worse in that it places no penalties on companies that do not respond.

Shifting Policies

In response to growing community pushback, the state's political climate has shifted from aggressive corporate courtship toward tighter regulatory controls. Governor Abbott recently mandated that public utilities block data centers from passing their massive infrastructure connection costs onto everyday consumers. Additionally, Abbott has signaled support for future legislation that would force data complexes to purchase more expensive, highly efficient water recirculation cooling systems.