Texas TWDB data center water reporting penalties (2026)

Texas — Governor's Directive to the Water Development Board to Penalize Data Centers That Fail to Report Water Use (September 14, 2026)
Texas · Tex. Governor's Directive to the Tex. Water Dev. Bd. (Sept. 14, 2026)

Status
In effect
Took effect
September 14, 2026
Applies to
Data centers operating in or seeking to operate in Texas, which must report water usage to the TWDB; data centers in the ERCOT interconnection queue, which must verify water consumption, sources and cooling technology.
Enforced by
Texas Water Development Board; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; county and district attorneys; Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT for the interconnection audit

Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Water Development Board on September 14, 2026 to penalize data centers that do not report their water usage. The reason is a compliance failure rather than a policy gap: over the past three years, as few as 28% of data centers responded to the state's mandated water usage survey. A reporting requirement that three-quarters of its subjects ignore is not a reporting requirement, and this directive supplies the consequences that were missing. Non-compliance can carry criminal consequences and can make a data center ineligible for water permits, amendments or renewals under Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code. Abbott instructed the Board to refer violations to the appropriate county or district attorney, and to notify the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality about potential permit disqualification. He also directed the Board to coordinate with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the state's water utilities and ERCOT on the separate data center audit he ordered in August — which requires projects moving through ERCOT's interconnection queue to verify their water consumption, water sources and cooling technologies before proceeding, with non-compliant projects denied a grid connection. The Board must report back on enforcement by October 14, 2026.

Who is protected: Texas water users and communities, through enforcement that makes the existing data center water usage survey consequential — permit ineligibility and prosecutorial referral for non-reporters.

Legal detail

Directive from Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas Water Development Board, issued September 14, 2026, requiring enforcement against data centers failing to report water usage. TRIGGER: response to the state-mandated water usage survey has run as low as 28% of data centers over three years. ENFORCEMENT ROUTES specified: (1) criminal consequences for non-compliance; (2) ineligibility for water permits, permit amendments and renewals under Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code; (3) TWDB referral of violations to the appropriate county or district attorney; (4) TWDB notification to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regarding potential permit disqualification. COORDINATION MANDATE: TWDB to work with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, state water utilities and ERCOT on the separate data center audit ordered in August 2026 (indexed as Texas Gov. Abbott data center grid-connection audit freeze, eff. 2026-08-03), which conditions advancement through the ERCOT interconnection process on verification of water consumption, water sources and cooling technologies, with denial of grid connection for non-compliant projects. REPORTING: TWDB must update the Governor's office on enforcement by October 14, 2026, with further updates after the audit concludes. Significance: this is the enforcement layer on an existing disclosure duty rather than a new duty — the contrast with Utah HB 76 and Oklahoma SB 259 is that Texas already had the survey and is now attaching permit and criminal consequences to ignoring it.

Key facts

JurisdictionTexas
LevelState
StrengthStronger
EnactedSeptember 14, 2026
CitationTex. Governor's Directive to the Tex. Water Dev. Bd. (Sept. 14, 2026)
Private right of actionNo, agency enforcement only
PenaltiesCriminal consequences; ineligibility for water permits, amendments or renewals under Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code; denial of ERCOT grid connection for audit non-compliance
Topicsdata-center siting and energy · AI disclosure and transparency · government use of AI
News reportTexas could penalize data centers for not reporting water use — The Texas Tribune

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