One of my all-time favorite movies is The Waterboy starring Adam Sandler as Bobby Boucher, who has an obsession for “high-quality H2O.”

Water is unequivocally the most precious commodity on earth. It is the most important nutrient and is required for all life — human and animal. We literally cannot live without water, even for short periods of time.

There is no “new” water. The same water — no more, no less — that existed when dinosaurs roamed the Earth is still with us, constantly being recycled.

Why, if water is so important, do we have such a challenging time making it a priority in legislative agendas and political party platforms? Why are so many Texans so uninformed about looming water shortages? Perhaps it is because the current water infrastructure usually works. Most Texans and most Americans simply turn on the tap, the water flows and there is never a moments’ thought to its origin, movement requirements and treatment for safe consumption, prior to magically flowing from the faucet. The only time we give it a thought is when we pay our monthly water bill, which has been regularly increasing in cost.

But our current infrastructure won’t continue to work if it doesn’t keep pace with demand. For countless Texans, the recent exponential growth in data centers and concern for potential massive water usage has spawned a groundswell of “water awakening” and a rejuvenation of the need for responsible utilization and conservation of “high quality H2O.” Regardless of one’s stance on the burgeoning growth of data centers, this is a unique opportunity to seize the moment and once again inform the water guzzling public about the urgent need to support efforts for long-term water supply issues.

How we manage water

Texas groundwater laws primarily revolve around the the “Rule of Capture.”  This legal doctrine allows landowners carte blanche, except in a few legal exceptions, to extract an unlimited amount of groundwater from beneath their property regardless of the impact on neighboring wells or aquifers. Established in a landmark 1904 court case, the Rule of Capture is rooted in common law and has shaped Texas groundwater management for over a century. Texas has some of the strongest Rule of Capture laws in the United States.

In contrast, Texas surface water is owned by the state. It may come as a surprise and shock to independent-minded Texans that the state claims ownership of all natural surface water, including flowing rivers, creeks, lakes, bays and stock tanks.

Groundwater conservation districts were first created in the 1940s as a local management tool in response to severe drought. They are charged with balancing private property rights and groundwater development with conservation, using locally adopted rules and the best available science to decide on how much water usage to permit a given user.

Texas is currently home to 98 ground water conservation districts. There are 60 single-county GCDs in Texas, and 38 that cover more than one county. In the 73 unmanaged counties, local landowners and massive industrial projects (such as data centers) can pump unregulated amounts of water.

Even within the majority of Texas that has GCD coverage, there are considerable differences in effectiveness of these entities, primarily related to funding and their ability to staff professional geoscientists. There are many underfunded GCDs, which may limit their impact on conservation efforts.

Data centers appear to be skirting transparency

The Texas House Natural Resources Committee met on June 23 to discuss concerns about water usage by data centers. According to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the number of data centers the state currently has surveyed has grown from 22 to 341. Though legally required, at the time of the hearing, only 17% of data centers had responded to questions about water usage. This lack of transparency makes planning for future statewide and local water needs difficult at best.

Some data centers operate on a closed loop system, meaning they reuse water. But with only 17% responding to the TWDB’s survey, it’s hard to know how many do so or how much water they require. 

The TWDB revealed that it has no way to track groundwater pumping by data centers in counties without a groundwater conservation district. This raises the following question, “Could a data center pump as much groundwater as it wants in some Texas counties?”  The answer appears to be yes. 

In response to these concerns and others regarding energy demand, Gov. Greg Abbott recently called for a ban on data center development in rural areas. Abbott’s team insists that’s not a flip-flop from his earlier rhetoric celebrating Texas as “the epicenter of AI development”. 

I live and ranch in Palo Pinto County where our very limited groundwater resources are derived from the Cross Timbers minor aquifer, and we are not in a GCD. Surrounding counties, including Jack, Young, Stephens and Eastland, are also without a GCD. In other words, these counties have no legal entity managing groundwater use.

Data Centers have been accused of specifically targeting areas in Texas that lack GCDs to avoid pumping regulations. 

Currently, the Cyrus One data center project on the Jack-Wise county line is planning construction in Jack rather than Wise County and is undergoing public hearings and tax abatement meetings with Jack County officials. Wise County is in the four-county Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, while Jack County is void of a GCD. 

Whether the county chosen for construction is related to the presence or absence of a GCD is a question that deserves an answer.

Texas’ future depends on this

Texas runs on water. According to the latest annual data from the U.S. census bureau, our burgeoning population of over 31 million is gaining more than 1,000 new residents daily. None are bringing their own water. The TWDB projects Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a state water crisis. We are currently not on track to do that.

Long-term water shortage projections require long-term solutions. Unfortunately, in hyper-partisan politics with short election cycles, funding anything that hints of possible “regulation” is risky. Candidates and elected officials who support creation of local water management entities can usually be guaranteed an orchestrated misinformation campaign and well-funded primary opposition.

Bobby Boucher may have been from Louisiana, but he loves his mama and is willing to fight for high-quality H2O. Those are strong qualities for any true Texan. 

“This column originally appeared in The Dallas Morning News where Glenn Rogers is a contributing columnist.”