Colorado City, Texas, will receive $10 million to fund water system upgrades after three companies — Cipher Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: CIFR), Fluidstack Ltd., and Anthropic — pledged the money to address ongoing infrastructure challenges.
The contribution will be managed through the Colorado City Water Infrastructure Foundation, a nonprofit established by the three companies specifically to oversee the funds. Planned projects include additional water storage capacity and replacement of aging valves, according to city leaders.
Colorado City has faced recurring water disruptions linked to aging infrastructure and severe weather. In July, storm damage at the city's well pump station left residents without reliable water for several days.
The funding comes as the area hosts growing data center operations. The Barber Lake data center, built by Cipher, operates on its own water supply and does not draw from the city's system. Cipher constructed the facility to meet data center standards outlined in directives from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Cipher develops and operates industrial-scale data centers. Fluidstack builds AI infrastructure, while Anthropic is an AI research company behind the Claude large language model.
"When we welcomed these companies to our community, they told us they would be good neighbors. This $10 million contribution for critical repairs to our local water system demonstrates they meant every word," Mayor Ruben Hurt said in a statement.
Tyler Page, Cipher's chief executive officer, said the company wanted to invest in solutions that would benefit the community for years to come. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said the donation would strengthen the region's water future while demonstrating commitment to the community.
