Roger Browning, a lifelong cattle ranger from Quanah, told Courthouse News the development of data centers around him has already impacted access to water in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a neighbor whose well is down,\u201d Browning said. \u201cI have another neighbor whose well volume went from one inch stream, running 24 hours, and now it pumps down after 30 minutes. The only variable is they\u2019re pulling water out to build the data center; there\u2019s nothing else happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texas has experienced an explosion in data center projects in recent years. Temple McKinnon, Director of the Texas Water Development Board\u2019s Water Supply Planning Division, reported that in 2023, the board oversaw 22 entities in 2023. In 2025, the board oversaw 341.<\/p>\n
Several members of the committee were astounded to learn that the data needed to evaluate data centers\u2019 impact on Texas\u2019s natural resources is itself a scarce resource.<\/p>\n
According to McKinnon, of the over 300 data centers or cryptocurrency mines the board surveyed about their surface and groundwater usage, only 17% responded. Under the Texas Water Code<\/a>, entities are required to respond to the survey or face being charged with a Class C misdemeanor.<\/p>\n Representative Trent Ashby, a Republican from Lufkin, avoided blaming the state agencies for the lack of responses but stressed the state\u2019s critical need to acquire this information.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are talking about massive water usage, especially groundwater, and the state cannot calculate how much water is being used, I think we can all understand why Texans are rightfully concerned\u2026\u201d Ashby said.<\/p>\n Later on, committee members heard from a panel of data center executives who attempted to soften the lawmakers\u2019 growing frustration.<\/p>\n Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy at the Data Center Coalition<\/a> \u2014 an advocacy organization representing companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI \u2014 said the industry takes water issues seriously and is responsive to concerns.<\/p>\n He emphasized the industry\u2019s exploration of different cooling techniques that do not utilize surface or groundwater, but advised against placing restrictions on the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cMandating the technology of today fails to create an environment that fosters the innovations of tomorrow,\u201d Diorio said.<\/p>\n The committee also heard from Beau Shilz, Water Team lead at Amazon Web Services, and Ben Townsend, Google\u2019s Head of Infrastructure Strategy and Sustainability, who gave examples of how the tech giants are using non-potable water or closed cooling systems to lessen their strain on communities\u2019 water supply.<\/p>\n Despite these commitments, many of the people who traveled across the state to testify were not swayed.<\/p>\n Tom Green County Commissioner Shawn Nanny told the committee of his experience of facing constituents who were angry and fearful of what a proposed data center in his precinct might do to the area.<\/p>\n \u201cThese people look to me to protect them, and I was absolutely helpless,\u201d Nanny recalled.<\/p>\n Seeking agency as an elected official, Nanny called on the lawmakers to give him, and county commissioners like him, more authority to evaluate and restrict data center projects.<\/p>\n For many of the Texans who attended the meeting, those who are fearful of what data centers might bring to their communities, they called on the legislature to enact a moratorium on all projects, so that data can be properly collected and regulations put in place.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m asking for a special session from the governor,\u201d Roger Browning told the committee. \u201cAnd tell [Governor Greg Abbott] I\u2019m firing him. I\u2019m conservative, but I don\u2019t have any use for anybody who is a proponent of these data centers.\u201d<\/p>\n Of the 1,200 registered voters polled by the Texas Politics Project<\/a>, 56% said they were opposed to the construction of a data center in their community, with 29% in support. The poll released Tuesday has a margin of error of +\/- 2.83%.<\/p>\n Data center regulation is expected to be a major topic for lawmakers when they return to Austin for a regular legislative session next year.<\/p>\n Until then, Abbott has sought to enact some regulation of his own by directing<\/a> the Public Utility Commission\u00a0and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to ensure data center projects do not burden Texans and the state\u2019s natural resources.<\/p>\n \u201cData centers must bring their own power, they must reuse their own water, and they must reduce electricity costs for residential and small business customers,\u201d Abbott wrote in a post on X<\/a>. \u201cWe will slash incentives and protect Texas neighborhoods. Those are bottom-line expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n