Texas moves to penalize data centers for water violations

By Laila Kearney

NEW ‌YORK, Sept ​14 (Reuters) - ​The governor of Texas, one of the world's fastest-growing regions for artificial ‌intelligence infrastructure, directed state regulators on ⁠Monday to penalize data centers that fail to disclose ‌details about their water ‌consumption.

Texas, which halted the connection of new data centers to the state electrical grid ​pending a review of the facilities' power and water use, among other issues, ⁠is undergoing an overhaul of the way it regulates the ​server warehouses.

Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Water Development Board to "impose legal consequences" ​on data centers and ‌other large water-consuming entities to comply with water use reporting requirements.

"Major water ⁠users, including data centers, appear to have committed civil and criminal violations through failure to provide ⁠TWDB with required information about water usage," Abbott's office ​said in a statement.

The Texas water regulator is attempting to survey data centers about their water use ‌and expected consumption. If the data center fails to return the ‌survey by the deadline, it will be ⁠denied new or renewed ‌environmental permitting needed ​for the facilities.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York, Editing by Franklin ‌Paul)

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