AUSTIN, Texas (KWTX) – State lawmakers are demanding answers about how much water Texas data centers are actually using, and why the state still doesn\u2019t have a clear number.<\/p>\n
The Texas House Committee on Natural Resources met Tuesday in Austin to take up the issue, hearing from Texans, the Texas Water Development Board, the Public Utility Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).<\/p>\n
Lawmakers said the number of data centers in Texas has exploded in a short amount of time, but many of those companies aren\u2019t telling the state how much water they\u2019re using.<\/p>\n
Companies No-Show at Hearing<\/p>\n
State Rep. Cody Harris (R-District 8) opened the hearing by calling out companies by name that were invited to testify, but were no-shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen new developers enter a residential neighborhood with intent on building a new data center, and refuses to do any community townhalls, refuses to discuss their water and electricity usage, and refuses to testify before this very committee, then Texans rightfully get upset,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n
Harris said it\u2019s companies like those that have fueled public distrust of data centers statewide.<\/p>\n
Data Centers Surge, but Reporting Lags<\/p>\n
According to the Texas Water Development Board, the number of data centers the state surveys has grown from 22 to 341. But lawmakers said the state still can\u2019t get a full picture of how much water those facilities are using.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty frustrating to hear only 17 percent of the respondents have actually taken time to fill out the questionnaire as they\u2019re required to do legally,\u201d said State Rep. Trent Ashley (R-District 9).<\/p>\n
The Water Development Board also admitted it has no way to track groundwater pumping by data centers in counties without a groundwater conservation district, which is the case for more than half of Texas counties. In those counties, there is no legal limit on how much groundwater a data center can pump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a broken system. And that\u2019s not your fault,\u201d Ashley said. \u201cBut when you\u2019re talking about massive water usage, especially groundwater, and the state can\u2019t calculate how much water is being used, I think we can all understand why Texans are rightfully concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separate Survey, Same Gaps<\/p>\n
The Public Utility Commission ran its own survey this spring, separate from the Water Board\u2019s, targeting data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities directly. The result: 28 companies responded, representing 92 facilities. Lawmakers said that\u2019s less than a third of the data centers believed to be operating in Texas right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s got to be an amount of data or the decision you make is not valid. That\u2019s just how science works. You either have enough data or you don\u2019t,\u201d said State Rep. Brad Buckley (R-District 54). \u201cIt appears like the data centers are not reporting enough data for us to make these big long-term decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawmakers pressed PUC staff on why the survey was voluntary, and why the agency didn\u2019t do more to boost responses, including mailing notices that went largely unanswered.<\/p>\n
TCEQ Reveals Permitting Gap<\/p>\n
The TCEQ outlined how it regulates data center wastewater discharge through state and federal permits, but under questioning, revealed a gap of its own.<\/p>\n
Saddler said the agency has reopened permits for other industries over compliance issues, but not, to his knowledge, for a data center.<\/p>\n
\u201cData centers, not to my knowledge, as far as reopening a permit associated with a data center to add requirements,\u201d said Robert Saddler with the TCEQ.<\/p>\n
Industry Pushes Back<\/p>\n
The data center industry itself also had a seat at the table Tuesday. Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, told lawmakers the industry is taking the water question seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe data center industry takes water use efficiency, conservation and stewardship extremely seriously,\u201d Diorio said. \u201cThe industry does not bury its head in the sand and does not act as though water is an endless resource available to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ashley wasn\u2019t satisfied, pointing right back at that 17 percent survey response rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 17 percent of data centers are responding, that gives you a black eye, and it tarnishes the reputation of your industry,\u201d Ashley said. \u201cThe question that I have is what does the other 80 percent have to hide? What do they not want the public to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
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