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s AI-driven demand accelerates the buildout of hyperscale data centers across the United States, California is confronting a specific and underexamined dimension of the challenge: not just how much water these facilities consume, but where they are being sited, and who bears the consequences.

Data centers in California are expanding into water-stressed regions, yet the public remains largely unaware of how much water they consume.

With more than a dozen data center projects taking shape in Santa Clara County, local leaders have offered assurances that potential environmental impacts will be thoroughly assessed before any new facility gets switched on.

Data center builders don’t tell the public how much water they use, according to a new report — and the industry is encroaching into water-stressed and vulnerable communities.

The first comprehensive analysis of every known operating and planned data center in California through the lens of water access and environmental justice was released on Thursday, May 14.

Water & Data Centers

California's fast-growing data center industry is increasingly expanding into parts of the state already facing water shortages and economic vulnerability.