Lawmakers press water board on data‑center water demand and adaptation options

Lawmakers used the TWDB briefing to press the agency on a fast‑moving policy question: how should planners and regulators account for accelerating commercial demands such as data centers and large industrial projects?

Representative Dean and others raised concerns that the state's five‑year state and regional planning cycles and the joint groundwater planning process can lag behind private sector proposals and suggested targeted interim hearings. TWDB officials said they account for proposed data‑center needs in regional planning, are partnering with planning groups and local entities to track proposed sites, and noted that other state studies (including public utility commission work) examine electric and water needs of those centers.

Why it matters: Several members described scenarios in which rapid large projects — sometimes proposed in ‘white’ areas outside groundwater district authority — could materially change local MAG calculations and the management choices facing neighboring districts. Members asked whether TWDB can provide more granular or more frequent updates and whether the Legislature should require additional reporting or disclosure from developers and from regional planning groups.

Policy options discussed: Committee discussion included possible statutory changes to require clearer identification of an export project’s end user, grant and data reporting requirements, and whether MAG should be treated as a firm cap rather than an advisory number. Members also pressed for more routine monitoring of proposed high‑capacity production and better transparency for local communities. "It's going to take all those tools" — science, planning and finance — Dubnick told the committee, adding that improving monitoring and modeling is a shared responsibility.

Next steps: The committee signaled plans for an interim hearing specifically on data centers and asked TWDB to present updated guidance and to help the Legislature evaluate options for disclosure, monitoring and planning to reduce surprises at the local level.