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Texas Policy Research submitted the following written testimony to all members of the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources ahead of its interim hearing.
- Committee: House Committee on Natural Resources
- Hearing Date: June 23, 2026
- Context: 89th Legislature, Interim
- Subject: Data Center Water Use and Conservation
- Position: Informational
- Texas Liberty Compact: Protect Economic Liberty & Due Process
- Submitted By: Jeramy Kitchen
- Entity: Texas Policy Research Action (TPRA)
The text below reproduces the testimony as submitted to the committee.
The submitted document linked above is the authoritative version.
Chairman Harris and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony regarding data center water use and conservation.
Texas is rapidly becoming a national leader in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced computing infrastructure. As investment accelerates, so too does discussion about electricity demand, water use, and infrastructure planning. These are important conversations, but they should be grounded in data rather than assumptions.
Water stewardship matters. Texas faces recurring droughts, regional water constraints, and significant long-term infrastructure needs. Policymakers have a legitimate interest in understanding how large industrial users, including data centers, affect local water resources.
However, the policy question is not whether data centers consume water. Every major industrial, commercial, agricultural, and residential activity does. The question is whether data center development represents a unique threat requiring new restrictions or whether existing planning, pricing, and infrastructure tools are sufficient to manage growth. Available data suggests caution before pursuing broad restrictions. Estimates indicate that data centers accounted for approximately 0.3 percent of statewide water consumption in 2025. While individual projects may create localized concerns, statewide consumption remains relatively small compared to overall water use. Where concerns do exist, they are often local rather than statewide. Communities, groundwater conservation districts, utilities, and developers should work together to ensure adequate supply, appropriate infrastructure investments, and transparent planning. A one-size-fits-all statewide approach risks creating unnecessary barriers to investment while failing to address the specific circumstances of individual regions.
Importantly, data center operators already have strong incentives to conserve water. Water is a direct operating cost. Advancements in cooling technologies, water recycling, and efficiency improvements continue to reduce water intensity and encourage more responsible resource management.
The Legislature should focus on policies that promote transparency, infrastructure expansion, and responsible cost allocation. New development should bear the costs associated with the infrastructure required to support that growth. At the same time, policymakers should avoid moratoriums, arbitrary restrictions, or regulatory uncertainty that could discourage investment and economic opportunity in Texas.
Texas has historically succeeded by meeting growth with innovation and infrastructure development rather than limiting growth itself. As lawmakers examine data center water use and conservation, the goal should be ensuring that water resources are managed responsibly while preserving the economic competitiveness that has made Texas a leader in attracting investment.
Texas does not need less growth. It needs the infrastructure and planning necessary to support it responsibly.
Editorial note: The submitted testimony cites approximately 0.3 percent of statewide water consumption in 2025. The Houston Advanced Research Center, the source of the most widely cited estimate, puts the figure at approximately 0.4 percent, or roughly 25 billion gallons including both direct and indirect use. The testimony text above is reproduced as submitted.
Sources
- Thirsty Data and the Lone Star State: The Impact of Data Center Growth on Texas' Water Supply, Houston Advanced Research Center, January 2026
- Data centers are thirsty for Texas' water, but state planners don't know how much they will need, The Texas Tribune, September 2025
Related TPR Work
- Written Testimony, Data Centers and Infrastructure | House State Affairs, 4.9.2026
- Written Testimony, Implementation of SB 6 | House State Affairs, 4.23.2026
- Written Testimony, Microgrids and Distributed Energy | House State Affairs, 5.6.2026
- Texas Policy Research 'One-Pager' on Texas Data Centers: Build Supply, Don't Subsidize Demand
- Texas' Data Center Dilemma: Growth, Grid Strain, and Water
- Texas Policy Research Opposes Fort Worth Data Center Moratorium
- The Hood County Data Center Lawsuit: What's Next?
- Governor Abbott's Rural Data Center Proposal
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