Harlingen considers a temporary ban on data centers. Here’s what comes next

After months of pushback from the community about concerns over strained infrastructure, the city of Harlingen is on track to become the first community in the Rio Grande Valley to pass a limited moratorium on data center construction. 

Harlingen city commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday night to begin the process for a data center moratorium, which could last up to 120 days if approved. But first, the city needs to host two public hearings on the topic, which are expected to be scheduled in May and June. 

The goal would be both to study the impact of data centers and to create regulatory ordinances during the moratorium period. Harlingen District 2 Commissioner Daniel Lopez has already drafted a data center regulation that is under consideration. 

Concerns about water use 

During public comment on Wednesday night, a local environmental scientist, Sidney Rivera, said she objects to the data center because of its potential water demand. 

“To build water-cooling-dependent data centers in the Valley would be disastrous,” Rivera said. “Data centers in Texas used an estimated 49 billion gallons of water last year. Meanwhile, the number one concern from our local farmers and ranchers is that they have no water.”

The Houston Advanced Research Center and the University of Houston studied data center water use and reported a 49 billion-gallon figure for 2025, which is projected to increase to 399 billion gallons by 2030. 

In September, data center developer Eneus Energy reached an agreement with the Harlingen Waterworks System, the City of Harlingen’s public water and wastewater utility, to supply treated effluent water for the proposed data center. Effluent water is non-potable wastewater suitable for industrial use. 

Eneus Energy is based in Scotland and, through its subsidiary RGV Property LLC, is under contract to purchase more than 1,700 acres northeast of the Valley International Airport from Stone Brothers in Raymondville by the end of April, Cameron County land records show. 

The project is expected to require about 4.6 million gallons of treated wastewater per day — a volume that could generate roughly $1.2 million a year for the water authority.

It was not immediately clear whether the site, spanning 12 parcels, is being used for agricultural purposes this year, as some farmers left land fallow due to a lack of water. 

The land did not appear to have crops growing during a recent visit by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. 

Ban won’t stop this data center

It does not appear that the moratorium would apply to the proposed data center, which would sit outside Harlingen’s city limits. The land is within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, but the property owners would have to agree to be voluntarily annexed into the city limits for the moratorium to apply. Cameron County lacks zoning authority, so it can’t prohibit such development. 

But Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda says there’s still control over utilities for a data center that the city can regulate — like water. Sepulveda added an ordinance to the city agenda to consider requiring a city commission vote before Harlingen Water Works enters into high-volume, industrial-scale water deals. But she tabled the item during the meeting. 

Sepulveda said afterward that the Harlingen Water Works board committed to a conversation about how best to collaborate on such industrial water-user demands moving forward. She said it was initially a community request for more oversight. 

“Those long-term commitments definitely are a concern for the community and for me. I wanted to ensure that there was some commission oversight,” Sepulveda said. 

As to why there’s a temporary moratorium and not a permanent ban, Texas state law prohibits cities from blocking the development of legal businesses. 

“Cities all over the state don’t have that authority,” she said. “What we do have is zoning authority within our community. So this is for us to study the impacts and understand them and to utilize our zoning authority to make regulations that protect the community.” 

The data center is in the initial planning and evaluation phase, and the company noted the importance of proximity to fiber internet providers and a planned 765 kV transmission line from AEP Texas. 

The company anticipates spending $14 billion on capital investment in Cameron County by 2045, according to a report compiled by Mangum Economics in August 2025. 

Eneus Energy expects to employ 1,000 workers, including 360 jobs at the data center, during that time frame. 

“Putting policies in place moving forward is important because this is one project that may or may not even get the green light to go, that has nothing to do with the city. They have some power issues, and state permits and things like that,” Sepulveda said. 

Data center opposition 

But for some residents, the promise of jobs and investment isn’t enough to offset the potential strain on infrastructure — whether that’s electricity, water, or even changing the flood plain. There have been several years of severe flooding in Harlingen. 

“Imagine the flooding risk that could be caused by the creation of a 1,800-acre concrete slab supporting a data center adjacent to our airport,” resident Luis Valdespino said. “This is not a risk that we can afford to take.”

Community opposition to data centers has been growing across the Valley. There’s an organization called For The People Alliance that’s pushing back against the industry.

Isaac Amani Newman, cofounder of the group, said that the potential for a moratorium was like winning a battle, but he envisions a longer war ahead. 

He’s worried about the reliability of the electric grid and water access statewide. 

“When they build all these data centers, the cumulative draw they are going to have on the grid is inconceivable,” Newman said. 

Eneus Energy is proposing 16 data center halls to power artificial intelligence, cloud, and data analytics. To do so, it will require 2 gigawatts of electricity, which could power about 250,000 homes. 

By contrast, there are only about 30,000 housing units across the city of Harlingen. 

“There is probably a hundred better ways to use nearly 1,800 acres of land near the city,” he said. “Like farming, affordable housing, I’d even take a casino over a data center.”