Environment & Climate
Texas governor orders penalties for datacenters noncompliant with water disclosure rules
The Guardian reports that Texas Governor Greg Abbott told state regulators to penalize facilities failing to report water usage.
The short version
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed state water regulators to penalize datacenters failing to comply with water disclosure requirements.[The Guardian]
- Abbott alleged in a letter that major users appear to have committed civil and criminal violations by withholding water usage data.[The Guardian]
- The order follows a mandate for state energy entities to audit datacenter projects before allowing grid interconnection.[The Guardian]
- It remains uncertain how many facilities have violated the disclosure rules or what specific penalties regulators will enforce.[The Guardian]
Key facts
- Governor Greg Abbott instructed the Texas Water Development Board to enforce legal consequences against major water users failing to submit disclosure surveys.[The Guardian]
- Abbott previously ordered an audit of datacenter projects seeking connection to the state's main power grid.[The Guardian]
- Texas datacenters used an estimated 25 billion gallons of water in 2025, according to the Houston Advanced Research Center.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- The exact number of datacenters facing potential civil or criminal penalties remains unverified.[The Guardian]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.