EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 As three major data centers are set to operate in the Borderland, stirring concerns about their environmental footprint, a University of Texas at El Paso engineering professor said she does not believe the projects will threaten residential water supplies \u2014 but she urged residents to keep pressing for transparency and enforceable oversight.<\/p>\n
On Friday, KFOX14\/CBS4 spoke with Yvonne Santiago, an associate professor in UTEP\u2019s Department of Civil Engineering, who said that while data centers use water, projections for the Meta project planned for Northeast El Paso show it would increase the city’s water use by less than 0.5 percent.<\/p>\n
Based on those projections, Santiago said, the Meta facility would rank about 11th among large water users in El Paso.<\/p>\n
\u201cWater is being used. There\u2019s no discussion about this,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cWhat is important is to discuss the fact that we do not want these water resources to be in competition with the resources used for drinking water for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santiago said the Meta data center is not expected to affect people\u2019s access to water, pointing to long-range planning that extends beyond 50 years. Still, she cautioned that even a small impact can add up if more facilities follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don’t want 10 data centers,\u201d Santiago said. “Every drop counts in the desert.”<\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: El Paso Water testing new app, expected to officially launch in the coming months<\/a><\/p>\n Santiago said city officials and residents should focus on holding data centers accountable by requiring them to document how much water they use and where it comes from.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has to be a meter that measures how much water they\u2019re using, and they need to report this to the community,\u201d Santiago said.<\/p>\n Santiago pointed to El Paso\u2019s conservation history as part of the broader context, saying \u201cthe water consumption has reduced by 40 percent in the last years.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, Santiago’s message to El Pasoans is this: stay informed and push for enforceable rules. <\/p>\n \u201cBecome well-informed and make Meta accountable for the water usage to make sure that we have the regulations in place,\u201d Santiago said.<\/p>\n RELATED: Meta vs. Painted Dunes: What the numbers and water sources show<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement to KFOX14\/CBS4, El Paso Water said Meta will use 2.5 million gallons of water per day at the most– when temperatures are high– and on average 480,000 gallons per day. <\/p>\n To put that into perspective, the President and CEO of EPWater, John Balliew, said Painted Dunes, the golf course, used 532,000 gallons of water per day in August 2025 and 558,000 per day in June 2026. <\/p>\n Both figures are higher than Meta\u2019s projected annual daily average of about 480,000 gallons per day.<\/p>\n