Overview
- The governor directed the Texas Water Development Board to use available civil and criminal channels to sanction data centers that fail to submit the state’s Water Use Survey and set a deadline for the board to report on enforcement actions by October 14, 2026.
- Abbott asked the TWDB to refer possible violations to county or district prosecutors and to notify environmental authorities so penalties under Texas water law can be pursued.
- The order ties water-data compliance to electric interconnection by requiring coordination with the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT and by blocking grid connection for new or expanded projects that refuse the audit.
- State surveys show low cooperation: TWDB sent the 2025 survey to 329 data centers but received under 30% of responses and just 22.5% from newly tracked facilities.
- Records and reporting name large users such as Bitdeer, Google, Meta and QTS and show single facilities using hundreds of millions of gallons a year, a scale that could complicate long-term water planning and energy reliability as the sector grows.