Texas data center water-reporting law carries $500 maximum fine despite crackdown

Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have pledged to crack down on data centers that failed to file required state water-use surveys, but the law they invoke makes noncompliance a Class C misdemeanor with a maximum $500 fine, plus possible loss of state water funding and some environmental permits, The Texas Tribune reports. Last year the Texas Water Development Board surveyed 329 data centers and nearly 30% responded; records the Tribune obtained show that 233 of 334 data center facilities identified from 2020 through 2025 never submitted a requested survey, and the board says it lacked the data to include data center water use in its 2027 state water plan. The board cannot prosecute violations itself, data centers aren’t eligible for the state funding officials threatened to withhold, and raising the fine would take legislation from lawmakers who don’t convene until January, per the Tribune.