Ashburn, Va. – September 15, 2026 -- QTS Data Centers has committed $1 billion to a global water stewardship initiative aimed at making the company water positive by 2035, restoring more water than it withdraws across its operations.
QTS commits $250 million to Texas water infrastructure over the next decade
The company's first major deployment under the pledge targets Texas, where it will fund water infrastructure and conservation projects, including replacement of the aging water tower in Turkey, Texas. QTS is also allocating $15 million over 10 years to the Bonneville Environmental Foundation for leak detection, habitat restoration and irrigation-efficiency projects across the state.
Water-Free Cooling Design has cut consumption since 2019
QTS has relied on a closed-loop Water-Free Cooling Design since 2019 to reduce water use compared with traditional evaporative cooling systems. The technology will continue to be deployed across new QTS developments as data center water demand comes under increasing scrutiny.
"Water is becoming a defining issue for the future of digital infrastructure," said Tag Greason and David Robey, Co-CEOs of QTS. The company said its approach prioritizes reducing water use first, then reusing and replenishing local resources through infrastructure upgrades and nature-based solutions.
Projects will be independently verified and community-driven
QTS said investments will be tailored to regional watershed needs, developed with local community input, and independently verified with published results. Sara Hoversten, Senior Director of Business for Water Stewardship at Bonneville Environmental Foundation, said watersheds in Texas and the West support communities, ecosystems and industries nationwide, requiring cross-sector collaboration to sustain.
QTS said it plans to announce additional water stewardship projects and progress updates as the initiative expands beyond Texas.