What can we do to stop the influx of Data Centers?
What can be done outside comments to the city council? What Texas restrictions, Political entities, or policies are in place to help residents who don’t want these centers?
I am going to highlight a message from the Mayor of Hutto from a Facebook post 9Apr2026. This is the part that is so concerning. He points out that a 500 acre center is coming to Tyler ETJ. Potentially/Allegedly “They will build their own treatment plant and dump treated wastewater into our waterways.” HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Or is this just political pressure to get agreements?
If a community doesn’t want, why can’t we stop this? Why is it always “Well it’s going to happen.” Why aren’t there stops in place once they are here that protect people?
The wastewater discharge is wild to me. We have already seen the issue in Bastrop with Elon. He just pays the fine and keeps going. What agency is going to protect our water supply? “The wastewater discharged from data centers can contain various contaminants, including chemicals used in cooling systems, heavy metals, and other pollutants. If not properly treated, this wastewater can degrade the quality of local water bodies, posing risks to ecosystems and human health.” https://ketos.co/ai-data-centers-wastewater-discharge-and-the-growing-need-for-effective-water-management#:~:text=The%20wastewater%20discharged%20from%20data%20centers%20can,posing%20risks%20to%20ecosystems%20and%20human%20health. Data centers have to treat wastewater, “but it requires strict compliance with permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Data centers often treat and recycle water onsite, but if they discharge wastewater containing chemicals from cooling systems, they must follow state environmental regulations to prevent contaminating local water sources” https://watershedassociation.org/2019/04/29/cities-across-texas-are-dumping-treated-wastewater-into-the-very-places-we-get-our-drinking-water/ Once we are contaminated what “geez sorry here’s some cash”?
This is all out of control. Are there agencies that can stop the noise issues? I’ll quote a Times article about Granbury, Texas. “The European Environmental Agency tells us that everything above 55 decibels is making us sick,” he says. The fact that the Granbury Bitcoin mine is emitting 70 or even 90 decibels on a nightly basis is “like torture,” he says. “The most spectacular cardiovascular diseases will develop. They have to stop the machines.” https://time.com/6982015/bitcoin-mining-texas-health/
Texas already doesn’t have enough water. (Or we aren’t managing correctly, or whatever) Some of these centers aren’t doing “low water” as they claim. How can we hold them accountable? I’ll give you a quote from techiegamers, “A surge with little oversight According to the Chronicle article, a white paper submitted to the Texas Water Development Board projected that data centers in the state will consume 49 billion gallons of water in 2025. That number is expected to rise to 399 billion gallons by 2030, nearly 7% of the state’s total projected water use.” This is not sustainable. https://techiegamers.com/texas-data-centers-quietly-draining-water/
What can we as citizens do?
Do we contact a city, county, or state politician?
How can we stop the centers from coming?
If it's always “Well, it’s going to happen.” How do we force the center to protect our lives and our waters?
I hate all of this. Thank you for your attention to this matter.