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
This report, conducted by Santa Clara University and Next 10, a think tank focused on the economy and environment in California, examines “the intersection of direct water use by data centers with water availability and distribution in California.”
Titled “The Intersection of Data Center Development, Water Availability and Environmental Justice in California,” this report from Santa Clara University’s Water and Climate Justice Lab gives Imperial County high rankings on both “Social Vulnerability” and “Water Scarcity” scales.
Authors Iris Stewart-Frey and Irina Raicu argue that generative AI and hyperscale data centers “consume and pollute substantial amounts of water at nearly every stage of their supply chain.”
The authors outlined several case studies, including the one on which this article will focus — Imperial County.
Researchers identified the Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC facility in the City of Imperial as an example of water scarcity and social vulnerability intersecting in a data center siting decision.
In an interview, Stewart-Frey said that her inspiration for the report is her long-term work on the California water system, which includes her research highlighting inequities in the state water system and how they are magnified by climate change.
High Water Scarcity
Within the Imperial County case study, the authors note that the proposed $10 billion data center, if built, “would represent one of the largest data centers in the U.S. in one of the driest places in the nation.”
According to the report, Imperial Valley “is almost entirely dependent on imported water from the Colorado River, with commitments to reduce that water allocation.”
“Proposed hyperscale facilities in the Imperial Valley would rely on Colorado River imports, a system already facing mandatory reductions, increasing long-term supply uncertainty,” the report says. “These are also areas with particularly vulnerable communities in which environmental justice factors are not being met.”
The authors identify this data center, “located in a historically rural and underserved community far away from traditional tech centers,” as part of a broader pattern in the case study.
The report explains that data centers are expanding into more socially and hydrologically vulnerable regions. It notes that while early data centers in California were concentrated in urban tech hubs, newer and planned hyperscale facilities are increasingly located in ex-urban and rural areas such as Imperial County and others.
According to the study, the proposed Imperial data center is “located in areas with the highest combined social vulnerability and water scarcity, suggesting that these sites face the greatest potential stress on both communities and local water resources.”
Per the study, “two data centers had been proposed, for the communities of Calipatria and Imperial, but in early 2026 the plans for Calipatria were withdrawn. Calipatria had been promoted as an innovative design that would rely on geothermal energy and require ‘low water usage.’”
Study’s Recommendations
Raicu said developers and policymakers should provide more information so communities can understand what is coming to their neighborhoods.
“We do need data centers,” Raicu said. “They’re really an important part of our lives. Our report is not here to say, ‘Don’t build data centers.’ The report is to highlight California’s fragile water system and how it plays out in particular locations.”
Stewart-Frey cautioned that “environmental impacts may be far away from where the actual data center location is, and impact other ecological communities.”
The authors of the report outlined several suggestions related to data center development. First, they recommended that state lawmakers advocate for legislation which requires the disclosure of data centers’ electricity and water usage.
Next10 Founder Noel Perry highlighted the need for the state legislature to “strengthen the requirement for accountability, sustainability and transparency for the developers and planners of data centers,” noting that this process is ongoing.
The study suggested that lawmakers “incentivize the development and deployment of water and energy-saving technologies for data center operations, as well as the use of recycled water and building of adequate infrastructure.”
Raicu noted that historically, technological hubs were already present in cities where data centers later flourished. “It’s not that data centers were built and tech hubs developed around them,” Raicu said. Ashburn, Virginia, for example, is a key Internet and data center hub with a long history of technological innovation.
The study further encouraged data center developers to focus on areas which are not “disproportionately affected by environmental burdens,” as the Imperial Valley is, and suggested concentrating on sites “that offer sufficient water, cooler climate and/or access to renewable energy.”
“It makes sense that a vulnerable area would want to diversify economically,” Raicu said of the Imperial Valley.
The report raises questions about whether data centers are the most effective option for economic diversification compared with less water-intensive alternatives.
Editor's Note: This article draws on findings from the report “The Intersection of Data Center Development, Water Availability and Environmental Justice in California,” published by Santa Clara University and Next 10, and on interviews with the report’s authors. The report focuses on water use and environmental impacts of data centers in California and does not examine broader economic or energy-system effects.