Council adopts wastewater rules for data centers, delays vote on water-use limits after public concern

San Angelo’s City Council on second reading adopted a wastewater-discharge ordinance aimed at regulating future data-center effluent, but the body tabled a companion water-use ordinance to the next meeting after a tie vote and extensive public concern.

John Kaufman, the city’s director of water utilities, told council members the wastewater measure gives the city authority to require industrial pre-treatment of data-center discharges and to regulate quality and timing so the treatment plant is not overwhelmed. "We can require any industrial customer to perform industrial pre-treatment before they discharge any wastewater to the city's wastewater system," Kaufman said, adding that the city anticipates propylene glycol — a food-grade coolant with a high biochemical oxygen demand — would be the main contaminant to monitor.

The ordinance on wastewater discharge passed 5–1. Kaufman said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the EPA provide higher-level oversight and that the city can impose metering and pre-treatment requirements under Chapter 11 of the city code.

The companion ordinance proposing numeric limits on data-center water use — staff described caps of 8 gallons per square foot of data-center area, up to a 6% annual replenishment allowance and a required full cooling-water recycle only once every three years — drew heavy public commentary and resistence from some council members. Public commenters questioned whether the state’s enforcement capacity is sufficient, how the city would test for and regulate PFAS or similarly persistent compounds, and whether the total water-and-power footprint of large campuses had been fully accounted for.

“All of these cases and violations are sitting on TCEQ's desk for years,” public commenter Alli Dero said, urging the council to delay approval and asking for greater specificity about which chemicals would be tested and how removed contaminants would be handled.

Council members took a motion to table the water-use ordinance but the vote initially resulted in a tie; a short recess followed so legal staff could review options. City attorney Brandon Dyson advised that if an ordinance fails on second reading it could not be reconsidered for six months unless four council members voted to bring it back sooner. The council ultimately voted to table the water-use item to the next meeting so a full complement of council members can consider it.

What’s next: The wastewater-discharge ordinance is now adopted. The water-use limits will return to a future meeting after staff provides more detailed technical information and the council assesses timing for full consideration.