Returning the TWDB survey doesn't put a campus outside the AG's investigation

A Texas data center campus that returned its TWDB water-use survey is still inside the stated scope of the Attorney General's investigation. On Sept. 24, 2026, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said it "has launched an ongoing investigation into all data center developments in Texas." On Oct. 15, 2026, it said Attorney General Ken Paxton "has issued letters to 156 data center developments across the state of Texas."

For a buyer, lender or equity partner, survey status now has two parts. One is whether the project returned the TWDB survey. The other is whether the project, its developer or an affiliate received an Attorney General letter, and what that letter asks for. A returned survey does not tell you whether the project received an Attorney General letter.

The Texas Water Development Board runs the survey. The Sept. 24 release says: "Under Texas law, TWDB is required to conduct surveys of entities that use ground water and surface water for municipal, industrial, power generation, or mining purposes." Governor Greg Abbott's Sept. 14, 2026 letter directed TWDB "to use its statutory authority to compel major water users to comply with water use reporting requirements" (TWDB survey enforcement and the Oct. 14 deadline that passed). Neither OAG release mentions the Governor's letter or says how the two efforts relate.

What the Attorney General has said, by date

The OAG has issued two releases on the investigation:

• Sept. 24, 2026: Attorney General Paxton "is investigating Texas data center developments that have not provided a response to the Texas Water Development Board's ('TWDB') water use survey." The release names 18 counties under initial investigation, introduced with the word "including."
• Oct. 15, 2026: the OAG says it issued letters to 156 data center developments and lists 32 counties where letters went.

The Sept. 24 release also says Paxton "is demanding that all data centers in Texas meet this requirement by submitting a survey response in full compliance with the law." The requirement in that sentence is the TWDB survey described just before it. The Oct. 15 release says data centers under investigation "include those that have not provided a response" to the survey. Non-responders are one group inside the investigation. The releases do not limit it to them.

What the letters ask for

The Oct. 15 release gives one line on the letters' content. They "notify data center developments that they must provide up-to-date and accurate information regarding water usage." On its face, that standard goes to what a developer reported, beyond whether a survey came back.

Neither release links to or reproduces the letters. KBTX reported on Oct. 15 that it "reached out to Paxton's office for copies of the letters but have not received a response." That is KBTX's account and is unconfirmed.

Neither release states any of the following:

• a deadline to respond to a letter
• a penalty for not responding
• the statute or other legal authority the letters rely on
• which developments received letters, or how many in each county

The releases also do not tie the letters to the Water Code remedies for an unreturned TWDB survey. The Texas Tribune reported on Oct. 14 that "Paxton's office did not respond to questions about the limits of the law or what penalties it believes it can pursue." That is the Tribune's report and is unconfirmed.

Who the letters reached

The Oct. 15 release uses the word "developments" and refers to "companies operating or developing these facilities." It does not define a development or say how many of the 156 are operating.

That gap matters for the survey. The Texas Tribune reported on Oct. 14 that "The water survey only goes out to data centers that were operating in that given year." If the Tribune is right, a project still under construction could hold an Attorney General letter without ever having received a TWDB survey. Neither OAG release says whether any of the 156 are in that position.

The Tribune also reported that records it obtained covering 2020 through 2025 identified 334 unique data center facilities, and that 233 of them never submitted a requested survey. Those are the Tribune's figures, and Sitebraid has not seen the underlying records. The OAG does not say how its 156 letters relate to them.

Where the letters went

The Oct. 15 release lists 32 counties. Compared with the 18 counties the Sept. 24 release named, they split into two groups:

• Also named on Sept. 24 (17): Bexar, Brazos, Dallas, Ector, El Paso, Harris, Lubbock, Midland, Montgomery, Nueces, Potter, Randall, Tarrant, Tom Green, Travis, Victoria and Wichita.
• Not named on Sept. 24 (15): Cameron, Collin, Denton, Glasscock, Hidalgo, Hood, Maverick, McLennan, Nacogdoches, Pecos, Sherman, Waller, Ward, Webb and Williamson.

Smith County was named on Sept. 24 and is not on the Oct. 15 list. The Sept. 24 list began with "including," so it may not have been complete. The Oct. 15 release does not explain the difference.

The county list shows where letters went. The investigation's stated scope is "all data center developments in Texas," so a campus outside those 32 counties is still within it.

Before the next commitment on a Texas campus

These are the sponsor's calls, made with counsel. The steps below gather the facts for them. None of this is legal advice.

1. Ask the sponsor whether the project, its developer or any affiliate received an Attorney General letter about water-use information. Get a copy, the date it arrived and the name of the person holding it.
2. If a letter arrived, read it for a deadline, the legal authority it cites and the information it requests. Decide with counsel how and when to respond.
3. Confirm whether TWDB sent the project a water-use survey, and whether and when it was returned. Keep the proof of return. Rows 1 and 2 of the Sitebraid TWDB water-survey checklist track receipt and return.
4. Compare the water-use figures last reported to TWDB with the project's current water-use records. Note any figure that is no longer up to date or accurate, and decide with counsel how to correct it.
5. For a project still under development that holds a letter but has no survey on file, record that fact and decide with counsel how to answer the letter.
6. Note whether the campus sits in one of the 32 listed counties. A county outside the list does not take the campus outside the investigation's stated scope.
7. Record letter status and survey status, with document dates, in the diligence file for each campus. Check the OAG news releases page for further releases before the commitment date.

If the Attorney General's questions could reach your campus water use, our Water & cooling work lays out where your water comes from and what it is committed to.