Grimes County Democratic Party

---

Whereas, the Grimes County Democratic Party is committed to the health and well-being of all Texans, and

Whereas, reliable sources of fresh water, mainly arising from the Carrizo-Wilcox and Gulf Coast aquifers, are necessary to sustain the lives and livelihoods of the residents, farmers, ranchers and businesses of Grimes County; and

Whereas, groundwater supplies in Texas, especially in rural counties, are already stressed by rapid population growth, prolonged drought, and climate changes; and

Whereas, modern data centers, particularly those for Artificial Intelligence and large-scale computing, use amounts of water for cooling as high as millions of gallons per day, depleting aquifers and thus risking clean water supplies for humans, livestock, and crops; and

Whereas, excessive groundwater extraction can impact private wells relied upon by rural households, increasing the risk of well failure, higher costs, and reduced access to safe and reliable drinking water; and

Whereas, rural counties often lack regulations and negotiating power to ensure that data centers do not impose long-term environmental, health, or infrastructure costs on residents; and

Whereas, waste water released from these operations contain concentrated pollutants and excess heat that degrade the quality of surface water needed to sustain fish and wildlife; and

Whereas, data center developments frequently benefit from local tax incentives but provide few permanent jobs relative to the resources they consume; and

Whereas, industrial-scale facilities may also contribute to localized air pollution, excess noise, and heat generation, which can negatively affect nearby residents’ health and quality of life;

Be it resolved, that the Grimes County Democratic Party affirms that groundwater resources are critical public assets essential to protecting public health, economic stability, and the property rights of county residents; and

Be it resolved that the Grimes County Democratic Party affirms that the county’s water resources and public health must take priority over industrial-scale development, and that no project should compromise the safety, well-being, or future of its communities.

Be it resolved, that Grimes County officials are urged to offer no tax incentives or abatements to any entity that places public health and the environment at risk, and

Be it resolved, that Grimes County officials and state representatives are urged to adopt policies that protect rural aquifers, safeguard drinking water quality, and ensure that environmental and public health risks or infrastructure costs are not shifted onto residents; and

Be it resolved, that the Grimes County Democratic Party calls for an immediate and enforceable moratorium on new data centers until developers provide full public disclosure of projected water usage, energy demand, emissions, and potential health impacts, and undergo local review processes with meaningful community input prior to approval, and

Be it finally resolved, that any future data center development in Grimes County must meet strict water-use and public health protection standards, so that they do not draw from fresh water supplies relied upon by residents and agriculture;

Author: Taylor Jean Perry, Grimes County, TX

Adopted by Grimes County Democratic Party in Convention Assembled

21st day of March 2026