With a light snowpack in Colorado and a severe drought choking New Mexico and Texas, the Elephant Butte Reservoir \u2013 provider of nearly half of El Paso\u2019s water \u2013 is critically low.<\/p>\n
And amid the drought conditions, a public fight has emerged with many El Pasoans pushing back against Meta\u2019s El Paso data center, a thousand-acre hyperscale AI processing operation that will tap into the region\u2019s water supply.<\/p>\n
The controversy has become a test of El Paso Water\u2019s long-term drought strategy. While critics question whether large data centers belong in this water-stressed region, utility officials argue the city has spent decades preparing for a future with less Rio Grande water through investments in desalination, water reuse and groundwater projects.<\/p>\n
Meta has pledged to fund a series of water conservation strategies and projects, including plans for eventual \u201czero-consumption\u201d cooling systems and promises to restore 200% of the water it uses. The tech giant has also committed to investing $10 billion into the El Paso project.<\/p>\n
Despite those commitments, community opposition has grown, targeting both the Meta project and proposed data centers in nearby Do\u00f1a Ana County and at Fort Bliss.<\/p>\n
John Balliew, CEO of El Paso Water, said concerns about data centers\u2019 water consumption have been fueled by what he described as \u201ca whole narrative\u201d of inaccurate information.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have an anti-AI mindset that\u2019s kind of becoming more and more prevalent,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have, all of a sudden, these companies which were very popular previously, are now Public Enemy No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of the public ire was raised when Meta, the parent company of Facebook and other social media platforms, backed off its original statements to rely on the existing El Paso Electric grid and solar power to run its operation.<\/p>\n
Instead, the electric utility filed an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to build a 366-megawatt natural gas plant to power the data center, which is under construction in Northeast El Paso.<\/p>\n
Since that application became public late last year, residents have voiced opposition to Meta at public forums, questioning both the value the data center will bring to El Paso and the incentives package awarded to Meta by the city and county.<\/p>\n
Under pressure, El Paso City Council voted unanimously May 26 to stop recruiting or offering incentives for future data center projects. City Reps. Josh Acevedo and Lily Lim\u00f3n have also proposed terminating the city\u2019s economic development agreement with Wurldwide LLC and its parent company, Meta Platforms Inc.<\/p>\n
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Water fills the Rio Grande as the sun rises Monday, June 1, in Sunland Park, looking east to El Paso.<\/p>\n
Photo by Ruben R. Ramirez<\/p>\n
How much water will Meta use?<\/p>\n
On peak summer days in 2025, water demand in El Paso County reached about 155 million gallons a day. El Paso Water officials said the data center\u2019s estimated average annual use will be 479,000 gallons, representing less than 1% of the region\u2019s summer water consumption.<\/p>\n
The city of El Paso\u2019s Meta FAQ webpage states the data center\u2019s average daily water use will reach 1.5 million gallons in Phase 3. The maximum permitted amount of water is 2.5 million gallons per day.<\/p>\n
An El Paso Water spokesperson said Meta\u2019s data center would only use 2.5 million gallons \u201con a day above 117 degrees, which has never been recorded in El Paso history.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not expect them to use 2.5 million gallons in any given day,\u201d El Paso Water public affairs officer Denise Parra said in a text message to El Paso Inc.<\/p>\n
Meta is expected to use about 175 million gallons annually, according to El Paso Water. This is less than the utility\u2019s largest customer, El Paso Electric, which uses almost 7 billion gallons annually, about 20% of the region\u2019s total water usage, according to El Paso Water\u2019s fiscal year 2025 financial report.<\/p>\n
Lane Gaddy, a member of the Public Service Board, which governs El Paso Water, said he is confident that Meta\u2019s operations do not threaten the region\u2019s water supply, even during drought conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel very comfortable with the water usage,\u201d he said. \u201cI think there are a lot of questions communities should be asking about these data centers, but as far as El Paso\u2019s water supply, the projects that have been announced in El Paso, there is no concern for sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Balliew agreed, arguing that Meta’s water use has been misunderstood and would be comparable to that of a similarly sized residential development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you had a footprint for a data center, let\u2019s say in the case of Meta that it\u2019s 1,038 acres, and instead of having the data center, you were to take that land and subdivide it and put in single-family homes with some apartments and some commercial stuff, it would be the same amount of water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But the issue is more complicated, said Veronica Carbajal, an environmental lawyer and one of El Paso\u2019s most outspoken opponents of data center development in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to say that we can divorce water from all other issues and just focus on water, but we can\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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The water required by the power plant serving the data center should also be considered, said Carbajal, lead organizer for Sembrando Esperanza, a coalition of neighborhood organizations advocating for economic, social and environmental equity in El Paso.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re only looking at the water consumption at the meter at the data center, it\u2019s a myopic view of what\u2019s really happening,\u201d said Carbajal, adding that El Paso Water has not provided data addressing the connection between a data center\u2019s electricity use and water consumption.<\/p>\n
Carbajal, who has a degree in environmental studies from Brown University, said the technology for cooling data centers has been evolving to use less water, but she believes that rising temperatures across the Southwest could offset those gains.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeta and El Paso Electric are going to be operating within the context of a warmer climate, a warmer summer, which means that you have this loop of hotter temperatures and more electricity needed to keep everything cool,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
How does El Paso Water plan to manage the drought and low river level?<\/p>\n
The data center debate has also focused attention on El Paso Water\u2019s long-standing plans for managing drought and the low level of the Rio Grande. Utility officials said there is enough water for El Paso\u2019s needs and the infrastructure can handle the stress.<\/p>\n
Asked whether incoming data centers pose a risk to El Paso\u2019s water supply or could lead to disproportionate increases in water bills, the water resources manager at El Paso Water, Scott Reinert, gave a quick answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said, and added, \u201cWe\u2019re building for the future with or without Meta.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key question, according to El Paso Water officials, is not whether there\u2019s enough water to support the region during a prolonged drought \u2013 there is plenty, their data shows \u2013 but how to finance the infrastructure and technology needed to deliver it in the most cost-effective way.<\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t a lack of water for El Paso, said Anna Gitter<\/a>, the new Public Service Board chairperson, \u201cThere\u2019s a lack of cheap water.\u201d<\/p>\n The technology to reclaim, treat and reuse brackish groundwater and wastewater is expensive. Replacing century-old pipes, upgrading water delivery systems and training water emergency crews with the latest response protocols all require significant investments that are ultimately reflected in customer rates.<\/p>\n El Paso Water\u2019s recently approved fiscal year 2026-27 budget includes a monthly $9.99 increase on the typical residential bill, which is a 12% jump from the previous year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been having to have rate increases, which we take very seriously,\u201d Reinert said. \u201cFor a lot of these projects, we spread out the cost so we don\u2019t hit customers at once.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to ratepayer revenue, the utility receives state and federal grants and partners with other government entities to pursue additional funding opportunities.<\/p>\n El Paso Water CEO John\u00a0Balliew speaks at the groundbreaking for the Pure Water Center in March 2025.<\/p>\n Photo by Ruben R. Ramirez, file<\/p>\n<\/p>\n