A data center is a giant building full of computers that need water and power to stay cool and on. The question is simple: do we have enough, and who pays if we do not?
The water, in three numbers
The data centers would use about 1.5% of the water we use now, but 17.9% of the cushion we have left. Like a paycheck with $87 left after bills, and someone asks for $16: small next to your pay, big next to what is left.
The power, in three numbers
Two data centers alone would roughly double the cushion, which is why the utility wants $3.5 billion in upgrades and a $22-a-month rate increase. Who should pay: the company that caused it, or you?
What is being built
| Project | Where | Water (full) | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta | NE El Paso, TX | up to 1.5M gal/day | ~100 MW (grid) |
| Wiwynn | Socorro, TX | not public | ~150 MW (grid) |
| Project Jupiter (Oracle/OpenAI) | Doña Ana Co., NM | claimed 20k–60k gal/day | own gas plant, up to 2,880 MW |
Three projects, two states, one shared water basin and air, and no public study of all three together.
The question to ask
If they cannot answer with a source you can check, the decision was based on trust, not math. Trust is not a water source.
What a fair rule would do
- Require a public hearing and Council vote for every big data center.
- Keep them 1,000 feet from homes, schools, parks, hospitals, and churches.
- Cap water, require recycled water for cooling, and publish use every quarter.
- Make them pay 100% of the upgrades they cause, so your bill does not rise.
- Require a cleanup bond before they open; daily fines if they break the rules.
What you can do
- Show up June 9 when Council takes up the Meta deal. Sign up to speak (three minutes): elpasotexas.legistar.com.
- Comment on the City's draft at epcap.konveio.com (linked from elpasotexas.gov/data-centers). Ask for an enforceable rule, not just a policy paper.
- Ask your Council member the one question above. Find your district at elpasotexas.gov/city-council.
- Share this page.
Read the full briefing and the source documents. Sources: Texas Tribune; El Paso Water Conservation Plan; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; El Paso Matters; KVIA; NMED air permits; El Paso Electric filings; Case No. D-307-CV-2025-02766; Celaya Solutions Research LLC analysis (2026).