Texas water officials approved the initial 2027 State Water Plan on Thursday after denying a petition to have it include forecasts and historic figures on data centers’ water usage.
The Texas Water Development Board’s staff had recommended rejecting the additions because of how late the state is in its five-year water planning cycle.
The approved water plan includes no specific data on large-scale digital infrastructure. Breann Hunter, an attorney with the water board, said the agency is working on methodologies to separate data center and crypto miner demand in the next state water plan — which will be published in 2032.
“I just didn’t want folks to think that if it’s not in the water plan, someone’s not thinking about it or someone’s not considering it,” said Brady Franks, a member of the agency’s board, during Thursday’s meeting.
