Short answer: Data centers do use a lot of water, but most of it is not used at the data center itself. Researchers estimate the power plants that supply their electricity use roughly 10 times more water than on-site cooling. And in Texas, the state’s own survey shows about 7 in 10 data centers have never reported their water use at all, so nobody knows the full total.
Key takeaways
- On October 15, the Texas attorney general sent letters to 156 data center developments in 32 counties that had not answered the state’s water use survey.
- Of 334 data centers the Texas Water Development Board tracked from 2020 to 2025, 233 never sent a survey back. The main penalty tops out at a $500 fine.
- The 97 Texas facilities that did report in 2025 used a combined 1.4 billion gallons.
- Nationally, the biggest water draw is hidden at power plants. One estimate puts it at 211 billion gallons in 2023, versus 17 billion gallons for on-site cooling.
- Water-saving cooling helps, but a new study finds it can push some of the water use back onto the power grid.
Why is Texas cracking down on data center water use?
What happened: On October 15, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office had sent letters to 156 data center developments in 32 counties, from Bexar and Dallas to El Paso and Travis. Each one had failed to answer the Texas Water Development Board’s water use survey. The letters tell them they must supply current, accurate water use information. “Data center developers must follow the law and respect the Texans and communities affected by their operations,” Paxton said in a statement.
The letters follow a push by Gov. Greg Abbott, who last month told state agencies to stop approving data centers until grid and water audits are done.
Why it matters: Texas water planners say they lack enough data to include data centers in the 2027 state water plan, according to the Texas Tribune. You cannot manage a resource you cannot measure.
How much water do Texas data centers report using?
The Texas Tribune analyzed five years of survey records. The survey targets operating facilities that use more than 10 million gallons a year. Here is what came back.
| Survey year | Data centers surveyed | Share that responded | Water reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 22 | Nearly a third | More than 144 million gallons from 7 facilities |
| 2024 | 67 | 28% | More than 660 million gallons from 19 facilities |
| 2025 | 329 | Nearly 30% | 1.4 billion gallons from 97 facilities |
For scale, the Tribune says the 2023 total was roughly the municipal water use of a Texas town of 4,000 to 5,000 people. One single facility, Meta’s data center in Fort Worth, uses an average of 72 million gallons a year.
Two gaps stand out. First, most facilities never answered: of 334 unique data centers identified from 2020 to 2025, 233 never sent in a survey. Second, the survey does not ask what cooling technology a site uses, which is usually the biggest factor in on-site water use.
Can Texas actually make data centers report?
Not easily, at least not yet. The main law officials point to carries a maximum fine of $500, charged as a Class C misdemeanor. State officials told the Tribune they do not know whether any such penalty has ever been issued against a data center. The water board says it cannot prosecute. Paxton generally cannot bring local criminal cases unless a county or district attorney asks him to. And the state environmental agency says it cannot revoke permits already issued, though it can withhold new ones or renewals.
The threat to cut off state funding may also have little bite. “There’s nothing the board can withhold from them,” Perry Fowler of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network told the Tribune. Raising fines would take new legislation, and the Texas Legislature does not meet again until January 2027.
Where does most of a data center’s water really go?
This is the part most headlines miss. A data center uses water in two ways. Direct use is water evaporated on site to cool servers. Indirect use is water consumed at power plants to make the electricity the data center runs on.
| Type of water use (U.S., 2023) | Estimated amount |
|---|---|
| Direct: on-site cooling at data centers | 17 billion gallons |
| Indirect: power plants making their electricity | 211 billion gallons |
By that estimate, indirect use was about 12 times direct use. Akanksha Menon, who leads a water and energy research lab at Georgia Tech, gave a similar rough estimate to Georgia Public Broadcasting: about 10 times more water goes to generating the power than to cooling on site. “A lot more water consumption is associated with generating the power for the data center, right?” she said.
Georgia shows how that plays out. GPB reported on a proposed 1,500 megawatt gas plant in Mitchell County that would draw about 1 million gallons a day from the Claiborne Aquifer. The nearest proposed data center is about 50 miles away, a reminder that the water use can land far from the server halls. A local riverkeeper also said Georgia Power plans to keep its coal-fired Plant Scherer, which is permitted to draw over 200 million gallons a day from the Ocmulgee River, running longer than planned. “All for data centers,” he said. That is his view, not a finding.
Does water-free cooling solve the problem?
It helps on site, but it is a trade-off. Bloomberg News reported on October 12 that new cooling technology is “not addressing the vast majority of the water consumed by the AI buildout.” Air cooling and closed-loop systems recirculate coolant instead of evaporating water, so they use far less water at the building. But air cooling needs more electricity, and more electricity means more water at power plants.
A University of Michigan study posted on September 21 modeled proposed data centers in Michigan. It found air-cooled designs halve total water consumption compared with evaporative cooling. But the extra electricity raises indirect water use by about one-third, shifting part of the water footprint to the river basins where the power plants sit. The paper is a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed. Its takeaway is that a data center’s water and energy cannot be judged separately.
The other side
Some argue the worry is overblown. An October 9 editorial from the commentary site Issues & Insights said, “The fears are unfounded,” pointing to figures showing that crops like alfalfa use far more water than data centers. National comparisons like that are useful, but they can hide local strain, which is why the location of a facility, and of its power plant, matters so much.
The industry also says it wants better data. Cameron Poursoltan of the Data Center Coalition told the Tribune the group supports annual water reporting and has worked with the water board on fixing contact information and data mismatches. And cooling keeps improving. Georgia Tech’s Menon told GPB that closed-loop and dry-cooler systems are much more efficient than older evaporative systems.
Finally, an announcement is not an outcome. Paxton’s letters are a warning, not a penalty, and we found no record yet of a fine or prosecution.
The TrustNoRobot Risk Check
| Question | What we see |
|---|---|
| Exposure | Communities in dry or fast growing regions, especially those near both new data centers and the power plants that serve them. |
| Evidence | Weak to moderate. National estimates exist, but Texas data covers only about 3 in 10 facilities, and indirect use is rarely tracked locally. |
| Speed | Fast. Berkeley Lab projected direct use could double or quadruple by 2028, and new gas plants are being planned now. |
| Cushion | Thin for now. In Texas, reporting is patchy and fines are small. More efficient cooling helps, but it can shift water use to power plants. |
What this means for you
If a data center is proposed near you, ask two questions, not one. How will it be cooled, and how much water will it evaporate in a hot year? And where will its electricity come from? If the answer is a new gas or coal plant, ask about that plant’s water permit too. Your regional water plan, often public online, shows whether your area already expects shortages.
For the national picture, read our guide to how much electricity and water AI data centers use. For what local pauses can and cannot do, see Data Center Moratoriums 2026, and catch up on the federal grid emergency order in This Week in AI Risk. Wondering how AI touches your job, not just your water? Try our Job Exposure Explorer.
Frequently asked questions
How much water do data centers use in the U.S.?
A 2024 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report estimated about 17 billion gallons for on-site cooling in 2023, plus about 211 billion gallons used at power plants to make their electricity.
Why did Texas send letters to data centers?
On October 15, 2026, the Texas attorney general sent letters to 156 data center developments that had not answered the state water board’s survey, telling them to report current, accurate water use.
What is the penalty for not reporting water use in Texas?
The main law carries a maximum $500 fine as a Class C misdemeanor. Officials do not know whether it has ever been applied to a data center.
Does air cooling make data centers water free?
No. It sharply cuts on-site water, but it uses more electricity, which raises water use at power plants. One Michigan study found indirect water use rose by about one-third.
Sources
- Office of the Texas Attorney General, “Attorney General Ken Paxton Sends Letters to Data Center Developments Across Texas” (Oct. 15, 2026)
- Texas Tribune, “Despite tough talk from Abbott and Paxton, Texas penalties for data center violations are light” (Oct. 14, 2026)
- GPB News, “Data centers do use lots and lots of water. But maybe not from where or how you think” (Oct. 13, 2026)
- Bloomberg News, “AI Data Centers’ Water Use Grows in Drought-Stricken Areas” (Oct. 12, 2026)
- Alston, Love and Haider, “Data center cooling choices shift water impacts across the grid,” arXiv preprint (Sept. 21, 2026)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report” (Dec. 19, 2024)
- The Conversation via Honolulu Civil Beat, “Data Centers Consume Massive Amounts Of Water, Companies Rarely Say Exactly How Much” (Aug. 25, 2025)
- Issues & Insights editorial, “Data Center Water Usage Has Been Blown Far Out Of Proportion” (Oct. 9, 2026)
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