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Abbott Orders Texas Water Board to Penalize Data Centers That Skip Water Surveys

The directive links missing survey responses to legal referrals, TCEQ permit loss and possible denial of grid interconnection to secure data for the state's 50‑year water plan.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Water Development Board to penalize data centers that failed to comply with mandatory water-use reporting requirements. The entrance to the construction site of a proposed Amazon data center is photographed in Boling on July 31.
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Texas Department of Emergency Management headquarters in Austin on Aug. 31, 2026.
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Overview

  • Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Water Development Board to enforce water‑use survey rules on data centers on Monday, Sept. 14, ordering penalties and referrals for noncompliance.
  • The governor's letter says some data centers "appear to have committed civil and criminal violations" by failing to return TWDB surveys and asks the board to notify county or district attorneys.
  • Under state law, failing to complete the TWDB survey can be a Class C misdemeanor and can make a facility ineligible for certain Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permits.
  • Abbott also told TWDB to coordinate with ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission on audits of data centers seeking grid connections and to deny interconnection for projects that do not complete the audit.
  • TWDB says it is a non‑regulatory planning agency without prosecutorial power, so practical enforcement will rely on referrals to local prosecutors, interagency coordination and the audits ERCOT is expected to finish by December.