Water Behind the Watts: The Hidden Risk of Powering Data Centers
A new report reveals that the electricity required to power data centers consumes massive amounts of water, often in regions already facing drought. It calls for better water management and cleaner energy sources to support the rapid growth of AI infrastructure.
Why it matters
As AI demand surges, the environmental footprint of data centers—specifically regarding water scarcity—is becoming a critical sustainability issue for policymakers and tech companies.
This report spotlights data centers’ biggest and least visible water use: the power that runs them
While data center companies typically focus on the amount of water they use to cool the technology running within their facilities, the water used for power generation to meet their massive energy needs has an even greater impact.
Our report examines this largely overlooked water demand across seven states that together host about half of all U.S. data centers—Virginia, Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio, and Arizona. In these states, water-intensive generation supplies much of the grid—and many of the plants supplying that power are in regions facing water stress or drought.
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