About This Tracker

This tracker is maintained by community volunteers concerned about data center development and its effects on water, taxes, and quality of life in Central Texas. We are not affiliated with any political party, developer, or government agency.

We aim to be factual, sourced, and fair. If we have something wrong, we want to know. Send us a correction.

Project data comes from primary sources: county permit applications, planning commission filings, developer public disclosures, city and county meeting records, and official property records from county appraisal districts.

Secondary sources include local journalism (San Marcos Record, Community Impact, KUT, Texas Tribune) and developer-published materials.

Water impact estimates use a three-tier approach, clearly labeled on each project:

• Disclosed— Water figures come directly from the developer's permit application or public statements.
• Estimated — We calculate from proposed MW capacity using industry benchmarks: 9,000–13,000 gallons/day/MW for direct cooling (WUE 1.8–2.5 L/kWh at 80% utilization). Source: LBNL/Shehabi et al. 2016.
• Unknown — Insufficient data to estimate reliably.

Indirect water (for power generation) is calculated separately using 0.26–0.55 gal/kWh for the ERCOT grid, or 0.3–0.5 gal/kWh for on-site gas generation. Source: Scanlon et al., Environmental Science & Technology 2013.

We report both direct and indirect water estimates where data is available. Actual water use depends on technology choices, operating capacity, cooling technology, and weather conditions.