Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a statewide halt on new data center permits pending a state audit. But Grimes County leaders say the massive TeraFab project is exempt because it’s classified as a chip manufacturing plant, not a data center.

Source: Terafab immune to Abbott’s data center pause | KBTX

MDS-Aqualia Brings the Urgent Water-Security Conversation to Texas Desal 2026 Annual Conference

Source: Texas Is Running Out of Time to Secure Its Water Future | EIN Presswire

City leaders hope to revive the twice-rejected project to avoid returning money loaned by the state.

Source: Corpus Christi Could Owe Texas $235M for Failed Desalination Plant | Inside Climate News

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to halt all permits sought by data centers until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas completes an audit of projects seeking access to the electric grid.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For two years, John Byrum sold South Texas on a big idea. A small river authority based in Uvalde would build a 100-million-gallon-a-day seawater desalination plant on Harbor Island. The river authority’s board president, Eric Burnett, has called the future facility the largest plant of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

Source: Nueces River Authority leader announces retirement days before board meets on his job | KRIS 6

Reservoirs across the West are slowly losing space to store water as dirt, sand and other sediment pile up behind dams, according to new, sweeping, nationwide research.

Source: Sediment is shrinking reservoir storage in the West. Wildfires could make it worse | Boise State Public Radio

Asphalt Inc. has officially applied for a groundwater permit in Burnet County to help operate its proposed 715-acre rock quarry on Hoover Valley Road near Burnet. This permit would be one of the last checkpoints needed for the aggregate mining company to get to work on the new facility.

Source: Hoover Valley Road rock crusher officially applies for groundwater permit | DailyTrib.com

In the Texas Panhandle, Darryl Birkenfeld is betting on the miracle basins to bring revival to a sputtering Ogallala Aquifer.

The governor says data centers must cover their own infrastructure costs and complete state audits before permitting resumes.

Source: Abbott pauses data center permits pending water and power review | KBTX

The move is the latest in a series of escalating efforts by the governor to slow data center development in Texas ahead of November’s election.

Source: Texas pauses environmental permit approval for data centers | The Texas Tribune