Why Do Data Centers Use So Much Fresh Water?

Iris Stewart-Frey, a professor of environmental science and hydrology at Santa Clara University, said that potential data center impacts may be even greater in the future as the facilities get bigger and more widespread. Her research team found that data centers are increasingly being sited in rural areas with less regulatory oversight, places local officials may be more willing to wave projects through.

Those are often dry regions. California’s Imperial County is a prime example, she said. One of the largest planned data centers in the country is coming to one of the driest regions in the US, an area completely dependent on Colorado River water, an already dangerous situation made more so.