Next week, the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs will hold a public hearing on the growing water demand of energy-intensive technologies, including data centers, in Texas. The Committee will hear invited and public testimony on water consumption, transparency, and how Texas can ensure that industrial growth doesn’t make water less affordable for residents and agricultural producers. The public notice and additional details are available here.
A growing number of water-intensive industries are coming to Texas putting additional pressure on our water supplies at a time when many parts of the state are already struggling with limited water resources. The rapidly expanding data center industry is just one example. These facilities can use large amounts of water directly for cooling, while the electricity needed to power them comes with additional water demand. In some cases, these data centers and AI facilities are planning to directly bring their own power plants, which need large amounts of water to operate, adding to the existing water stress of many communities. The upcoming hearing is a chance for Texans to tell legislators directly what they are seeing around their homes and what they want the state to do as these large water industries continue to expand.
How to Participate & Talking Points
The hearing begins at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 1, in Room E1.012 of the Capitol Extension in Austin. Unlike the Texas House, the Senate doesn’t offer an online portal for submitting public comments related to this hearing. If you want to provide testimony, you will need to attend the hearing in person and will have two minutes to testify.
You don't have to be a water expert to participate in this hearing. In fact, one of the most useful things you can bring to the discussion next week is something legislators can't get from technical reports: how these issues affect your everyday life and your community. Maybe a data center is proposed nearby and you still don't know where its water will come from. Maybe you rely on the same aquifer a new industrial facility plans to pump from. Maybe water rates are already going up, or your utility is considering expensive infrastructure to support a large new industrial user. Tell the Committee what’s happening on the ground, and then tell them what you want them to do about it. Tell your story. Just one local example and one clear request will make your testimony powerful.
To help you prepare, we gathered a few suggested points that you may want to raise but don’t feel like you need to cover every issue in two minutes:
- Texas needs better information about how much water large industrial users consume, as well as how much energy they plan to use. Large industrial users should be required to report how much water they use now, how much they expect to need in the future (both for cooling and energy generation), and where that water will come from. Communities and local water providers need this information early to understand how a large new demand could affect local water supplies and whether there will be enough water to meet everyone’s needs. It is important to have detailed information about both the direct (for cooling) and indirect (for electricity generation) water use of these large industrial users to better assess the total amount of water expected to be used.
- Texas needs to be more proactive as it plans for large new water demands. The recently released Draft 2027 State Water Plan is designed to help Texas plan for its water needs over the next 50 years. Yet the draft doesn’t specifically forecast water demand from data centers because, according to it, there wasn't enough information available during this planning cycle. While the plan is updated every 5 years, data center development in Texas is moving at a much faster pace. We can’t wait another 5 years to account for a major new water demand we can already see rapidly growing. The same should apply to other large industrial users that could significantly impact the availability of water in Texas communities. We should be more proactive.
- Large industrial users should conserve water and avoid using drinking water. Large industrial users should be required to conserve water, reuse water onsite, and use reclaimed water, treated wastewater, highly saline groundwater, or other non-potable supplies where feasible. Water that is clean enough for people to drink shouldn't be the first choice for industrial uses that don't require drinking quality water.
Communities shouldn't be left with the bill. A large new industrial project may require new pipelines, treatment facilities, and wastewater infrastructure. Families, local businesses, and farmers shouldn't have to pay higher water bills to cover additional infrastructure needed for a new large user. The incoming industrial user should pay its fair share of the costs needed to serve it. Communities deserve to know what is being proposed. If a project could become one of the largest water users in town, people shouldn't have to rely on rumors, media reports, or public records requests to find out how much water it will use or where that water will come from. Texas should make basic water use information public and limit the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) when they hide information that communities need to better understand how a proposed facility could affect their lives.