water consumption

Critics say the governor must call legislators to Austin to pass state laws regulating data centers.

As more and more data center developers submit proposals to build in Texas, questions about how they will impact Texas' grid and contribute to drought conditions across the state are widespread.

On Monday, the governor ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid.

While a new state law partly limits data center groundwater use, in reality, data centers avoid water permits entirely by buying water from utilities. Residents are demanding answers in communities like Luther and Yukon.

Data centers use water to cool their massive arrays of computer servers. A state agency sent out a survey to figure out how much, but less than a third of the companies responded.

The state’s resilient, adaptable farmers can raise just about anything and use less water doing it. But will enough people buy what they produce?

Texans from Waco to Harlingen are raising concerns over how much energy and water data centers are poised to use. Local officials, some enticed by a tax boon, say they have little power to stop the rush.

The extra $25 million for the Kansas Water Plan would come from the State General Fund.

Kansas lawmakers are back in session in Topeka. The governor wants them to address the state's ongoing water problems. But will they? Commentator Rex Buchanan has more on the state's long-running water problems - problems that many are now calling a crisis.

With AI's rising popularity, Texas has seen tech companies invest millions into data centers. But experts warn the state is not capable of regulating the AI wave.