Data centers that skip state water surveys face fines of no more than $500, despite Abbott's crackdown

Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have promised to go after data centers that did not report their water use to the state, but the penalty in the law they are leaning on tops out at $500, The Texas Tribune reported Wednesday.

Texas requires large water users, including data centers that use more than 10 million gallons a year, to complete an annual survey for the Texas Water Development Board, which uses the answers to plan for the state's water needs.

A facility that does not respond can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500, and it can be cut off from state water funding and certain environmental permits.

Low response

Few data centers have filled out the survey. The board surveyed 329 data centers last year, and about 30% answered. Records the Tribune obtained for 2020 through 2025 identify 334 data center facilities; 233 of them never submitted a survey.

The facilities that did report used about 1.4 billion gallons of water last year, a figure that covers only the 97 respondents. The board has said it lacks enough data to include data center water use in projections for the 2027 state water plan.

Abbott has told the board to refer facilities that do not comply to county and district attorneys, and Paxton has opened an investigation into hundreds of data center developments. The board is due to update the governor's office on its enforcement work by Oct. 14.

Limits of the penalties

Experts quoted by the Tribune said the consequences carry less weight than they sound. Data centers generally are not eligible for the state water funding that could be withheld, according to Perry Fowler of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network.

A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality official told the Tribune the law does not let the state revoke or suspend permits already issued over a missed survey. State officials do not know whether any fines have been issued, and raising the fine would take legislation; lawmakers return in January.

Abbott's office said several state agencies will work together and that "no other state agency will approve data centers" until regulators have the information they need. Cameron Poursoltan of Texas for the Data Center Coalition said the industry supports annual reporting and that missing contact information and data discrepancies at the board contributed to the low early response rate.

Some operators have said they never received a survey.

Kathryn Guerra of the environmental group Public Citizen said companies know the existing law has gone unenforced.

The enforcement push comes as Abbott and Paxton both face competitive elections. An August University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll found 57% of Texas voters opposed a data center being built in their community, the Tribune reported.

Sources

The Texas Tribune