Texans Push to Pause Data-Center Approvals Over Harris County Power, Water

Harris County officials and residents are watching a mid‑February wave of protests and town halls across Texas as communities from Round Rock to Hood County press for pauses on new data‑center approvals amid worries about water and grid strain. Round Rock’s City Council unanimously rezoned nearly 30 acres off East Old Settlers Boulevard to allow a 75‑megawatt Skybox Datacenters facility after a march from the Round Rock Public Library and hours of public opposition, while the Texas Tribune reported that Pecos County this month approved what it described as the largest proposed data center in the U.S.

The State Republican Executive Committee in February passed a near‑unanimous resolution calling for “rigorous independent assessments” of proposed data‑center projects and their impacts on grid reliability and water shortages, and the resolution specifically urged a pause on “open loop” cooling systems that use the most water. Political actors are responding: the Cook campaign announced a commitment “to filing comprehensive legislation addressing data center development,” and Republican candidate Rena Schroeder has made opposition to data centers the centerpiece of her campaign in Senate District 22.

Local attempts to impose temporary pauses have produced mixed results. In Hood County, commissioners heard hours of testimony on a proposed six‑month moratorium that would have studied impacts to water supplies, energy demand, air quality, wildlife and residents’ quality of life. The moratorium failed 3–2 after the county received a letter from a state senator arguing the county lacked authority; Commissioner Dave Eagle said, “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am,” and added, “You’ve got to wonder what kind of backroom stuff was going on. … This is just a threat letter to us.”

Developers continue to defend projects as jobs and investment generators. Skybox Chief Development Officer Haynes Strader told the Round Rock meeting, “It feels a little bit today like I’m walking into an away game but we’d like to be your home team,” and argued Skybox sees Central Texas as critical to broader infrastructure and technology progress. Still, local organizers and advocacy groups question the economic tradeoffs; a KVUE segment noted that construction drives activity but permanent jobs at data centers “are not that many” and “it varies.”

Environmental advocates are pressing air and water concerns. Jim Walsh, policy director at Food & Water Watch, warned that “communities are seeing how data center development can impact their air quality because of backup generators running on diesel. Data centers can impact their water supplies, which is a pressing issue in Texas.” Those worries echo across other large proposals reported by the Tribune: a reported $500 billion project beginning construction on the outskirts of Abilene, a 5,800‑acre Panhandle plan promoters call the world’s “largest energy campus,” and a $10 billion, 520‑acre Infrakey partnership near Lacy Lakeview that has drawn organized rural opposition.

For Harris County, the statewide pattern matters because SRCE resolutions, county votes and legislative pledges will shape whether local agencies see stricter oversight or independent impact studies before permits are issued. San Marcos and other Central Texas councils are scheduling further votes next week, while activists and county officials continue to push for documentation on water use, generator emissions and grid impacts before more approvals proceed.