Full Breakdown
Texas Governor Orders Penalties for Data Centers Over Water-Use Reporting Failures
By Drooid · · How we work
Texas’s New Enforcement Push
Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to use its enforcement authority against data centers that do not submit the state-mandated water-use survey required by the Texas Water Code. Projects that ignore a separate audit by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) will be denied interconnection to the state power grid.
Background: Rapid Growth and Rising Water Demand
Texas now hosts the nation’s second-largest concentration of data centers, with 335 operating facilities and at least 248 more in development. The Houston Advanced Research Center estimated that data centers used about 25 billion gallons of water in 2025, a figure projected to climb to 161 billion gallons annually by 2030—roughly 2.7 % of the state’s total water use. Water is primarily consumed for cooling high-density server equipment, making accurate reporting essential for long-term water-planning efforts.
Compliance Landscape and Survey Statistics
The TWDB’s annual water-use survey targets industrial users consuming more than 10 million gallons per year. Compliance has fallen as the number of surveyed data centers increased.
- 2023: 22 data centers surveyed, 32 % responded.
- 2024: 67 data centers surveyed, 28 % responded.
- 2025: 329 data centers surveyed, just under 30 % responded.
A Texas Tribune analysis notes that only about 28 % of data centers have responded to the survey in the past three years. The board’s chief communications officer, Kaci Woodrome, confirmed that compliance data are shared with law-enforcement agencies only upon request.
Official Statements & Responses
Abbott linked the water-use survey to the ERCOT audit, stating that “TWDB’s water use surveys serve a similarly important purpose as this data center audit. TWDB must coordinate with PUC and ERCOT to ensure that covered entities provide critical water use information in response.”
The TWDB, a non-regulatory agency, said it lacks direct authority to prosecute violations; enforcement responsibility rests with local district attorneys and law-enforcement officials. Agency staff said they do not track fines because enforcement is delegated to local authorities.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Authority to Enforce: Abbott’s directive calls for the TWDB to “use its enforcement authority,” yet the board itself has stated it does not possess prosecutorial power, creating uncertainty about how penalties will be applied.
- Compliance Data: The TWDB’s internal records show a 100 % response rate for the first three survey years, but later data from the Texas Tribune indicate a steep decline to roughly 28 % compliance in recent years. The discrepancy highlights a gap in publicly available, up-to-date compliance metrics.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Major water users, including data centers, appear to have committed civil and criminal violations by failing to provide the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) with information about water usage as required by the Texas Water Code.” — Greg Abbott
- “TWDB’s water use surveys serve a similarly important purpose as this data center audit. TWDB must coordinate with PUC and ERCOT to ensure that covered entities provide critical water use information in response,” — Greg Abbott
What’s Next
Abbott has asked the TWDB to provide an update on compliance and enforcement actions by mid-October. The board is also expected to coordinate with PUCT and ERCOT to integrate water-use data into the upcoming interconnection audit for new data-center projects.