On July 20, the Data Center Action Coalition and local residents filed a lawsuit against the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court to stop the development of the data center Cloudburst, along with the development of Palomino Alpha, another data center in the county. 

Commissioners approved a $500 million property tax abatement and development agreement with CloudBurst Texas in April for the construction of an over 700-acre data center, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

Two-minute impact: The Data Center Action Coalition is alleging that the approvals of the developments were advanced through “inadequate public notice, private negotiations and unlawful conflicts of interest,” according to a news release.

The lawsuit claims the commissioners approved tax abatements and development agreements for the projects while violating the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Tax Code, and state conflicts-of-interest laws.

Looking forward: The Crystal Clear Special Utility District met July 23 to discuss a request from Palomino Alpha for a contract providing the data center 500,000 gallons of water a day. They will vote on the request at their August meeting.

Texas State University in San Marcos will begin to offer a new program for students in the Department of Engineering Technology with the issuance of a $1 million grant.

The framework: The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, has awarded Texas State University a three-year grant to establish the Metallurgical Engineering, Trades Apprenticeship and Learning, or METAL, program, according to a news release.

The METAL program will train students to work in the metal casting, forging and forming industries through free online training and in-person bootcamps, according to the release. Four bootcamps will be offered per year, all of which provide one week of hands-on training at no cost to the participants to learn a wide variety of topics related to metal casting, such as:

• Tool design
• Process simulation
• Heat treatment
• Metal rolling
• Forging

Check out some of the most-read stories from the Austin area July 20-23. 

1. New bridge over Onion Creek opens in Buda, increasing city access

2. Liberty Hill approves $1.5M for preliminary planning of downtown project

3. Sunbird Ranch neighborhood to offer land-lease model for homebuyers 55-plus in Georgetown

4. New Braunfels to conduct full analysis of police headquarters due to structural issues

5. iScream Gelato coming to east Round Rock

6. Lost dogs and e-bikes: 5 stories to know in Bastrop-Cedar Creek

As more data centers are being built in Texas, the state’s water planning agency warns that limited information is available about the booming industry and its impact on water supplies.

The overview: The Texas Water Development Board adopted its initial 2027 State Water Plan on July 23, with a “more robust” version of the plan expected later this year. The plan consists of 3,000 water management projects and 6,700 strategies that experts say are needed to prepare for future severe droughts.

It will cost about $174 billion to complete the projects, according to the TWDB. However, if they are not implemented, a severe drought could cost the state $91 billion in economic damages as soon as 2030 and lead to $177 billion in annual losses by 2080.

The context: These projections do not account for the amount of water that data centers—which largely purchase their water from public systems—may use or how the large facilities could contribute to overall water availability. Right now, the board said it did not have enough information to do so.