By Trey Wilson, Texas Real Estate and Water Lawyer · Published October 2026 You signed an option, a purchase contract, or a ground lease with a data center developer. Now the State of Texas has frozen data center permits, and a letter arrives saying the freeze is “force majeure,” the deadlines are suspended, and the…
Water Diversion and Section 11.086 of the Texas Water Code: What Landowners Should Know The statute that decides who pays when a neighbor’s grading, driveway, or new construction sends water onto your land. The water was never a problem for twenty-five years. Then someone changed the land next door. A neighbor built a wall, poured…
Will a Data Center Next Door Lower My Property Value? A Texas Landowner’s Guide to Diminished Value, Stigma, the Proof That Actually Wins, and What Happens When You Sell You have watched the announcements, the rezoning notices, and the survey trucks, and now a data center is going up within sight of your land. The…
Will a Data Center Drain My Water Well? A Texas Landowner’s Guide to Groundwater Ownership, the Rule of Capture, and Where You Actually Have Leverage When a Data Center Comes for the Water Your well has produced clean water for as long as you have owned the place, maybe longer than anyone in the family…
What if Data Center Lights or Noise Are Driving Me Crazy? A Texas Landowner’s Guide to Private Nuisance, the Crosstex Standard, and When a Data Center’s Hum and Glare Cross the Line The data center went online, and now your nights are different. A low mechanical hum rolls off the cooling banks and never stops,…
What Happens When Data Center Construction Floods My Land? A Texas Landowner’s Resource Guide to Surface Water Diversion, Water Code Section 11.086, and Drainage Claims Against Data Center Developers A developer strips the vegetation off a hundred acres next to you, regrades the whole tract so it falls toward your fence line, pours concrete pads…
The Texas Landowner’s Guide to Living Next to a Data Center What every Texas landowner should know when industrial development comes to the fence line. Trey Wilson Real Estate and Water Attorney. Representing Texas Landowners. Not Developers. Most of what has been written about data centers in Texas is written for the people building them….
A Texas Landowner’s Guide to Selling Property for a Data Center What Every Texas Landowner Should Know Before Signing an Option, Easement, or Purchase Agreement. By Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer. We represent Texas Landowners. Not Data Center Developers. Call 210-354-7600 What This Guide Covers What to do in…
The Next Frontier of Texas Data Center Litigation: Challenging Governmental Approvals By Trey Wilson | San Antonio Real Estate Attorney | Texas Water Lawyer Every major development boom in Texas eventually ends up in court. We have seen it with pipelines, reservoirs, transmission lines, wind farms, master-planned communities, and virtually every other project requiring…
Same Gulf, Very Different Paths: Two Bets on Seawater Desalination in South Texas By Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer The Water Problem Is Not Theoretical South Texas is running short of water, and the numbers are not close. The Rio Grande Valley’s population of 1.4 million is projected…
When a Government Agency Signs a Contract, Can You Sue It? Texas Law Says “Maybe.” Every day across Texas, governmental entities enter into contracts worth thousands, and sometimes millions, of dollars. Cities purchase land. Water districts contract for engineering services. River authorities acquire easements. Municipal utility districts construct infrastructure. Contractors build public projects. Developers dedicate…
Turning Point for Texas Water Supply? $1 Billion Desalination Plant Proposed for South Padre Island By Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer A $1 billion seawater desalination plant is now being proposed for South Padre Island, and it may mark a structural shift in how water is sourced, controlled, and…
When Wells Run Dry: Liability Theories Against Sellers and Developers in Texas Groundwater Transactions By Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer The Deal Looks Fine—Until the Water Stops In Texas, groundwater is often assumed. If there is a well on the property, buyers tend to believe it is lawful, produces…
Texas Is Subsidizing Data Centers — But the Real Story Is in the Law, the Water, and the Risk There is a surface-level story making the rounds right now: Texas is handing out more than $1 billion per year in tax breaks to data centers. That part is true. But if you stop there, you miss…
Can You Challenge a Groundwater Conservation District If It Denies You Party Status? What the Texas Supreme Court Said in Cockrell Investment Partners, L.P. v. Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District By Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer If you work around groundwater disputes in Texas long enough, you learn that…
A Shared Water Well Agreement Is Not Just About Sharing Water By Trey Wilson San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer What Texas Landowners Need to Think About Before Multiple Lots Rely on One Well When people hear the phrase “shared water well agreement,” they often assume it is a simple arrangement. One…
By Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate Attorney and Texas Water Lawyer Water has become one of the most important issues in Texas real estate. It affects value, use, development potential, financing, disclosure, and risk. Yet many Texas real estate brokers still approach water as an afterthought. That is a mistake. Across Texas, growth continues…