A data center is a huge building full of computers. They run hot, so they drink water and power to stay cool and switched on. We are not against technology. We build it. The question is simple and fair: do we have enough water and power for this, and who pays if we do not?
This page is written by an El Paso research lab, in plain language, so any resident can understand what is happening and speak up. The full legal and technical documents are linked at the bottom.
The decisions are being made this month
Two Council members (Josh Acevedo, District 2, and Lily Limón, District 7) put an item on the June 9 agenda asking the city to study ending the 2023 tax-break agreement with Meta. The Mayor is against canceling and has warned it could lead to lawsuits. City lawyers say the deal is "legally binding" and hard to undo. This is the meeting to show up to or write about. Agendas: elpasotexas.legistar.com.
Here is the short story of how we got here, so you can follow what comes next.
- December 5, 2023City Council voted to give Meta an 80% property-tax break for decades, plus $12.5M in city money, for a $10 billion data center promising about 300 permanent jobs.
- May 21–26, 2026Council voted unanimously to stop giving tax breaks to future data centers and released a draft Data Center Policy Framework (a 33-page policy paper) for public comment.
- June 2–3, 2026A push began to cancel the existing Meta deal. City officials said the city cannot simply walk away from a signed 2023 contract without legal risk.
- Monday, June 9, 2026 — coming upCouncil takes up the request to explore terminating the Meta agreement. Public comment is open at City Hall and online.
- July 2026 (expected)The Meta data center campus is expected to begin operating.
The City's draft is a policy paper — a list of good ideas with no teeth. Our draft is an enforceable city law with real limits, real penalties, and real proof requirements. The public-comment window is open right now, which is the moment to ask for the stronger version. See Take Action below.
Three numbers that decide everything
The question nobody answered
If you count the water we actually pump and treat each day, we are already at the limit. If you count a bigger number that exists only on paper, there is room. No official has said which number they used. If they cannot answer with a source you can check, the decision was based on trust, not math. Trust is not a water source.
Our grid is closer to the edge than people think
Two of the three projects (Meta in El Paso and Wiwynn in Socorro) would pull about 250 megawatts from the grid. That is roughly double the cushion we have. To handle it, the utility has proposed $3.5 billion in upgrades and a $22-a-month rate increase that the City Council rejected.
Three projects, two states, one shared basin
| Project | Where | Water (full size) | Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta | Northeast El Paso, TX | up to 1.5 million gal/day | ~100 MW from the grid |
| Wiwynn | Socorro, TX | not yet public | ~150 MW from the grid |
| Project Jupiter (Oracle / OpenAI) | Doña Ana County, NM | claimed 20,000–60,000 gal/day | its own gas plant, up to 2,880 MW |
These sit on the same water basin (the Mesilla Bolson) and the same air. Yet no public study adds the three of them together. Project Jupiter alone would run a natural-gas power plant around the clock, and its permit filings describe hundreds of tons of air pollution and millions of tons of greenhouse gases per year. The community in New Mexico is challenging it in court (Case No. D-307-CV-2025-02766).
We pulled the signed agreements. See what the City gave up for the Meta project, or read the 380, 312, and Stan Roberts records yourself.
What a fair city rule would do
We drafted a model ordinance (a city law) that sets clear, equal terms for any large data center. It does not ban them. It makes them prove they will not harm our water and power, and pay their own way.
- Public hearing and Council vote (a special permit) for every big data center. No more quiet approvals.
- Keep them 1,000 feet from homes, schools, parks, hospitals, and churches.
- Cap their water, require recycled water for cooling, and measure and publish use every three months.
- Make them pay 100% of the power and water upgrades they cause, so your bill does not rise to cover them.
- Require a cleanup bond before they open, so an empty building never becomes the public's problem.
- Daily fines and loss of permit if they break the rules.
It is written to hold up in court: facially neutral, grounded in sourced facts, and built on existing federal, state, and Texas law. The full ordinance and the evidence behind it are in the Documents section.
What each part does, in plain words
A city law is split into "articles." Here is what each one does, with no legal jargon.
Protect our water, keep utility bills fair, guard against noise, pollution, and fire, and make the company pay its own costs. It says plainly: we are not banning data centers.
A data center that uses 40 MW or more of computer power, or 100 MW or more of total electricity. Cross either line and the rules apply. No arguing your way out with a nice efficiency score.
Only in heavy commercial/industrial zones, and only with a special permit — a public hearing and a Council vote every time. Plus the 1,000-foot buffer from homes, schools, parks, hospitals, and churches.
A water cap, recycled water for cooling, clean power on the grid, air permits for generators, a noise limit, and the big one: the company pays 100% of the upgrades it causes. None of it lands on your bill.
Real-time meters on all water and power, a public report every three months, and an outside audit every year — paid for by the company. A rule you cannot measure is just a wish.
Every day a rule is broken counts separately, with fines up to $2,000 a day (the most Texas law allows). The city can sue and revoke the permit. No permit, no operating.
Before it opens, the company posts a bond worth 100% of the cost to tear the building down and restore the land. If it walks away, the public is not stuck with an empty shell.
If a judge strikes one part, the rest still stands, and the stricter rule wins in a conflict. Sixteen blanks are left for Council to set the exact local numbers.
The hard questions, answered plainly
These are the questions people ask most. Use the answers when you talk to neighbors or your Council member.
Are you trying to ban data centers?
Are you targeting Meta or one company?
Won't this scare away jobs and money?
Don't we have plenty of water?
Isn't the state already handling this?
Why make them pay for the upgrades?
Can the City just cancel the Meta deal?
What is "PUE" and "WUE"? Do they let companies dodge the rules?
What you can do this week
- Comment on the City's draft — the window is open now. The City put its draft Data Center Policy Framework online for public feedback. Read it and leave a comment directly at epcap.konveio.com/draft-data-center-policy-framework (also linked from elpasotexas.gov/data-centers). Ask for an enforceable ordinance, not just a policy paper.
- Show up June 9. Council takes up the Meta agreement on Monday, June 9, 2026. Sign up to speak (three minutes) or send a written comment. Agendas and sign-up: elpasotexas.legistar.com.
- Ask the one question (above) of your City Council member and county commissioner: which water-supply number, and where is it published? Make them show the number.
- File an open-records request. Ask for the supply figure and any cost or load studies behind the approvals, at the El Paso Public Information Center: elpaso.govqa.us. Records create a paper trail.
- Share this page with your neighbors, your church, and small-business owners.
Email your City Council member
You vote for one of these eight district representatives. A short, polite email that asks the one question carries real weight. Find your district at elpasotexas.gov/city-council.
mayor@elpasotexas.gov District 1 · Alejandra Chávez
district1@elpasotexas.gov District 2 · Dr. Josh Acevedo
district2@elpasotexas.gov District 3 · Deanna Maldonado-Rocha
district3@elpasotexas.gov District 4 · Cynthia Boyar Trejo
district4@elpasotexas.gov District 5 · Ivan Niño
district5@elpasotexas.gov District 6 · Art Fierro
district6@elpasotexas.gov District 7 · Lily Limón
district7@elpasotexas.gov District 8 · Chris Canales
district8@elpasotexas.gov City Clerk (put it on the record)
cityclerk@elpasotexas.gov
The five asks (say these every time)
- Adopt enforceable standards, not just a policy paper.
- Require a cumulative water-and-power study before any approval.
- Make data centers pay their own upgrade costs, with no rate hikes on residents.
- Require a teardown bond before they open.
- Publish the supply number. If you cannot show the math, do not approve.
Documents you can read, download, and share
Everything here is public and free to use. Each document has its own page; you can download the file with one click. The legal documents prepared by the lab are drafts and should be reviewed by counsel before any official action.
The actual Meta deal — primary sources (City records)
Our analysis & model law
About Celaya Solutions Research LLC
We are an independent research lab in El Paso. We build instruments that make hidden systems visible. When our region started debating billions of dollars in data centers, we did what research is for: we gathered the public records, ran the water and power math, showed our work, and published it for free so anyone can check it.
The technical work rests on real experience: more than twelve years in electrical infrastructure, including critical power systems at large data centers, and current work building the switchgear and power distribution equipment that data centers run on. We believe technical guidance to a community should disclose who wrote it and what they know, the same way an engineer stamps a drawing.
Our promise: every number has a source, every calculation can be reproduced, and corrections are welcome. If a number here is wrong, show us the source and we will fix it. That is how math works.