Protect our water before the deals are signed
Data centers, crypto mines and the gas plants built to power them are coming to East Texas. Here's what you need to know, and what to ask for.
The numbers
~20 million
gallons a day Amp Z asked the City of Lufkin for, almost as much as the entire city of Abilene uses.
1.5 billion
gallons a year WattBridge asked the Pineywoods groundwater district for, for a gas plant.
474 GW
of power requested from the Texas grid, about 90% data centers. That's 5 times the grid's record peak.
Most
projects on our statewide map have made no water number public. State reporting only began this fall, and the results aren't public yet.
The state has hit pause
Since August 2026 the Governor has frozen data center grid approvals and TCEQ permits until state audits of power and water are finished, expected around December 10. He has called for closed-loop cooling, yearly water reporting, and no costs shifted to household bills. There is no reason for local officials to move faster than the State of Texas.
What we're asking
- Public hearings before any agreement is signed
- A hard daily water cap in every agreement
- Closed-loop cooling, no evaporative towers
- Private well testing and repair guarantees
- Noise limits at every home, farm and ranch
- Developer pays for grid upgrades, not our bills
- Parent company guarantees, binding on future owners
- Bonds for roads and cleanup
- Groundwater rules that don't exempt big users buying through a city system
- All of it written into county abatement guidelines
What you can do
- Show up. Pineywoods Groundwater Conservation District rules hearing: Monday, Nov. 9, 1:30 p.m., Kurth Lake Lodge. Commissioners Court meets regularly; watch the agenda.
- Write your commissioners. Tell them your own story: your well, your land, your family.
- Learn more and get the tools at the addresses below.