Water impacts are focus of new California data centers study
The study examines whether water use and cooling needs could strain supplies as California data centers expand, with some projects relying on imported water, researchers said.
- Trona-Based developer R&L Capital Inc. has proposed building a 238,000-square-foot data center south of the intersection of Highways 395 and 178, triggering concerns about water consumption in an already strained region.
- A new report from Next 10 and Santa Clara University reveals data centers are increasingly expanding into hydrologically vulnerable rural regions where local water supplies face significant strain.
- Researchers were unable to find publicly accessible environmental planning documents for the vast majority of data centers; lead author Iris Stewart-Frey concluded, "We can't manage what we cannot measure."
- Assemblymember Diane Papan is pushing two bills, including Assembly Bill 2619, to mandate water use disclosure when seeking data center permits; both cleared a key legislative chokepoint this week.
- The Data Center Coalition argues data centers collectively used significantly less water than agriculture or other sectors in 2025, yet F. Noel Perry of Next 10 warned growth without safeguards risks compounding existing inequities.
11 Articles
11 Articles
AI’s thirst: California communities face new water strain as data centers move inland
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the digital world rushes to embrace generative artificial intelligence, the physical infrastructure supporting it is beginning to collide with one of California’s most precious and precarious resources: water.
Data centers are flooding into California communities already desperate for water, report warns
California's fast-growing data center industry is increasingly expanding into parts of the state already facing water shortages and economic vulnerability. A report, The Intersection of Data Center Development, Water Availability, and Environmental Justice in California, examined operating and proposed data centers across the state using measures of water access and social vulnerability, according to Business Wire. Researchers found that newer,…
Water impacts are focus of new California data centers study
Just as news settles in that at least two new data centers have been proposed in Kern County, a report released Thursday raises concerns about the strain that installations powering artificial intelligence can impose on water supplies available to nearby…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
