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<\/a>Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin are working with the data center industry and other stakeholders to help manage the impact of the growing industry on Texas. Credit: iStock\/quantic69<\/p>\nData centers could\u00a0potentially\u00a0account for 3%\u00a0to 9%\u00a0of Texas\u2019 water use by 2040,\u00a0according to a new white paper<\/a>\u00a0from The University of Texas at Austin that recommends greater transparency in the industry\u2019s water use and better coordination\u00a0among\u00a0stakeholders to reduce the impact of data centers on the state\u2019s water supply.\u00a0<\/p>\n The estimate, which includes both\u00a0water\u00a0used for cooling and to produce the power needed for data centers, is part of a study that investigates water issues associated with the booming industry in Texas. Currently, data centers account for less than 1% of the state\u2019s water use. Researchers estimate that number\u00a0could\u00a0increase depending on industry growth, the cooling technologies used, and the source of electricity powering the data centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n For comparison, manufacturing accounts for about\u00a07% of the state\u2019s water use, according\u00a0to\u00a0the current state water plan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the water use for data centers,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Mariam\u00a0Arzumanyan, a postdoctoral fellow at the Bureau of Economic Geology, a research unit of\u00a0the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. \u201cPeople\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know the scale of how much water is going to be needed. There is not a unified understanding\u00a0of\u00a0the technologies\u00a0used\u00a0for cooling,\u00a0or\u00a0how much water\u00a0that\u00a0technology would use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The white paper,\u00a0\u201cWater Use Requirements for Data Centers in Texas,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0was developed by the COMPASS research consortium, which was created by the Bureau of Economic Geology. COMPASS works closely with industry leaders,\u00a0policymakers\u00a0and local communities to help understand and manage the impact of the growing data center sector on issues\u00a0such as\u00a0power use, land use, infrastructure\u00a0planning\u00a0and workforce issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCOMPASS and the expertise of The University of Texas at Austin are invaluable for meeting the challenges of providing the next generation of\u00a0digital infrastructure in Texas,\u201d said\u00a0Denitza\u00a0Arguirova,\u00a0director of\u00a0data\u00a0center\u00a0strategy for Crusoe. \u201cIt is a tremendous forum for bringing all stakeholders together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The boom of data centers in Texas and\u00a0across\u00a0the country is fueled by the growing computing needs of\u00a0artificial intelligence. Researchers said more than 400 data centers\u00a0are\u00a0operating\u00a0or under construction in Texas and that more\u00a0are\u00a0planned. However, it is difficult to know how many of the facilities in the planning phase will come to fruition.\u00a0<\/p>\n The water use estimates in the study primarily include the water used on-site to cool the computer servers housed by the data centers and the water needed to produce the energy that powers the facilities. The latter is significant because data centers use a lot of power,\u00a0and much of the state\u2019s power production comes from natural gas,\u00a0coal\u00a0or nuclear energy, which themselves consume significant volumes of water for cooling\u00a0\u2014\u00a0about 5% of the state\u2019s water use.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The white paper covers these water requirements in detail in addition to water quality requirements, water treatment solutions and their cost, regional water planning issues,\u00a0and policy recommendations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do via this white paper and the work that follows is come up with tools and techniques to predict water use, both direct and indirect, and help inform the community, city planners and local government about the water needs of emerging data centers,\u201d said Vaibhav Bahadur, an associate professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the UT Cockrell School of Engineering.\u00a0<\/p>\n Policy recommendations include:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Greater transparency and systematic communication among key stakeholders, including data center operators, utilities, municipalities, state agencies, and private developers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Better mapping and accounting for projected industry growth in water-stressed regions of the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n Working toward integrated planning frameworks that combine hydrologic projections, grid capacity models, land-use constraints,\u00a0and\u00a0permitting\u00a0processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arzumanyan said\u00a0an integrated planning framework is vital because Texas water is governed and influenced by\u00a0so many\u00a0entities\u00a0\u2014\u00a0including\u00a0cities,\u00a0groundwater\u00a0conservation\u00a0districts,\u00a0private suppliers, river authorities,\u00a0the state Water Development Board\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0Texas\u00a0Commission on\u00a0Environmental\u00a0Quality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Another issue\u00a0that has\u00a0been\u00a0identified\u00a0during\u00a0COMPASS\u2019\u00a0meetings with\u00a0industry\u00a0representatives,\u00a0state and\u00a0municipal\u00a0officials\u00a0and\u00a0community\u00a0organizations\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0need to\u00a0come\u00a0up with\u00a0a\u00a0consistent\u00a0framework\u00a0to\u00a0discuss and\u00a0analyze water\u00a0issues\u00a0related to\u00a0data centers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need shared definitions and a common framework. Right now, conversations around data center water and energy are often inconsistent because people are using different assumptions and metrics,\u201d\u00a0said Ning Lin, chief economist at the bureau and COMPASS principal investigator.\u00a0\u201cThis is where COMPASS can play a key role. As an independent research institute, we can provide objective analysis that helps align how industry, academia and policymakers understand these issues. We can create a common language\u00a0that supports better decisions and more productive conversations by building a clear and consistent framework.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n UT researchers are advancing solutions to address the demands of growing data center development. Researchers with the Bureau of Economic Geology are conducting applied energy research, including studies of geothermal energy as a potential source of reliable, low-carbon power for data center operations. And Cockrell School of Engineering researchers are tackling wide-ranging innovations across the power delivery spectrum \u2014 from an advanced thermal interface material that reduces cooling demands to developing converters and next-generation power technologies to accommodate load growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more information, contact:\u00a0Anton Caputo<\/a>, Jackson School of Geosciences, 210-602-2085;\u00a0Monica Kortsha<\/a>, Jackson School of Geosciences, 512-471-2241.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May 6, 2026 Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin are working with the data center industry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-281454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin are looking at the projected water use by data centers in Texas depending on industry growth and the type of fuel used to power the facilities. The fuel mix scenarios were calculated for powering data centers with mainly renewable energy such as wind, solar and batteries; mainly thermal energy such as natural gas, coal and nuclear; and a balanced mix of the two. Credit: UT Jackson School of Geosciences.<\/p>\n