Corpus Christi is in such a desperate hurry to get water from beneath the tiny town of Sinton that it's already laying pipe before securing the permits to actually drill. That's either bold planning or a really expensive Hail Mary, depending on who you ask.
Sinton, population 5,500 and located about 30 minutes north, is fighting those permits in court, worried about its own water supply. But Corpus Christi leaders - who supply water to half a million people - now suggest the real reason is a thirsty new data center complex. Officials point to recent land deals, well permits, and a rezoning ordinance as evidence. Sinton officials are playing it cool: "It is rumors," said City Manager John Hobson, declining to confirm or deny. Everyone likely signed non-disclosure agreements, noted Greg Ellis, an attorney for the local groundwater district. "Seems like it's gotten out anyway," he added. "I find the rumor very believable."
Hundreds of data centers are planned in Texas - more than any other state, per data from Aterio. These high-powered server farms for AI and internet services are sparking backlash over water consumption. Many parts of Texas face water supply deficits, but none as pressing as Corpus Christi, a 500,000-person metro on the South Texas coast where reservoirs could dry up next year unless the drought breaks (a powerful El Niño might help).
In February, as main reservoirs dropped below 10% full, Sinton challenged permits for Corpus Christi's emergency Evangeline groundwater project. At a May 5 city council meeting, Council Member Eric Cantu said he heard Sinton's challenge was because the town "is going to do a data center." Local construction exec Michael Miller posted on Facebook about "significant evidence" including land deals and rezoning. "We should all be focused on solving this water crisis before we entertain adding any large volume users," he wrote.
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni told a council meeting, "We do know there's one, maybe a second data center going to Sinton." After weeks of hearsay, Sinton hasn't issued an official statement. The chamber of commerce receptionist suggested asking the city; the economic development corporation said they're not working on that project. John Michael, a former Sinton city engineer, heard from "very credible sources" that the project is worth "several billion dollars" and could require over three million gallons of water per day - Sinton currently uses less than one million. He pointed to an April 21 ordinance rezoning 1,000 acres of agricultural land (the size of 756 football fields) to industrial. "No city would ever do that unless somebody needed them to," he said.
Regional power provider AEP acquired a 12-acre adjacent parcel last year and plans a substation. The groundwater district issued Sinton a drilling permit within the rezoned tract - though its general manager hadn't heard about any data center. "Apparently the city plans to sell groundwater to the data center, so they don't want the City of Corpus Christi to get the permits they need," said James Dodson, former Corpus Christi water department director.
The Evangeline project, decades in regional planning, includes 22 proposed wells pumping from the Evangeline Aquifer into a pipeline currently drawing water from Lake Texana, 100 miles away. Corpus Christi previously focused on a seawater desalination plant, but as drought deepened and desal plans floundered, they turned back to Evangeline. City leaders say it could produce 24 million gallons per day by 2027; Corpus Christi currently provides up to 120 million gallons daily to seven counties.
Across Texas, such groundwater import ventures almost always spark legal fights between small local users and big-city interests. Corpus Christi officials say they negotiated with Sinton and didn't expect legal challenges when they applied for drilling permits early this year. So they started building anyway - a "calculated risk," per Zanoni, trucking in pipeline from South Carolina. But on Friday, Judge Alicia York ruled Sinton's challenge could proceed, sending the matter into litigation that could last years.
"Sinton stopped negotiating with us on our good-neighbor agreements and has been fighting against our regional water supply project," Zanoni said. "Their need for water for a large water user like a data center might best explain their actions."
The rapid data center buildout across Texas is poised to transform statewide water demands, according to a new report from the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin. Researchers estimate data center water demand could grow from 120 million gallons a day in 2025 to 640 million by 2030 - exceeding mining, livestock, and steam-electric generation. "This signals a potential shift in the composition of Texas's water demand portfolio," the report said.
Large data centers typically use water for cooling, said Bill Radford, CTO of Duos Edge AI, at a ribbon cutting in downtown Corpus Christi last week. His new facility uses high-powered AC and consumes no water, but more expansive complexes trickle water through hardware to prevent meltdowns. "Water goes in, steam comes out," he said. "It is something that data centers are moving away from, because they understand it. But today it's still there."
Radford has heard the Sinton rumors but cautioned half of all proposed Texas data centers never break ground, typically due to community opposition or resource limits. So maybe Sinton's mysterious megaproject will remain just that - a mystery.