In a letter to Congress last month, more than 120 organizations advocating for rushed data center development warned lawmakers that focusing on legislation is not enough to address rising power bills.
Among other losses, the groups said, “water use is equally worrisome.”
“In drought-prone areas,” the groups explained, data centers consume up to 5 million gallons per day, putting pressure on “drinking water supplies, agriculture and ecosystems.” Meanwhile, closed-loop systems “require the use of toxic chemicals, which, if not properly disposed of, can eventually flow off and pollute waterways.”
To avoid disastrous consequences for the nation’s water supply, the groups recommended that Congress pass legislation requiring comprehensive environmental review before construction. They also want Congress to commit by the end of this legislative session to “rejecting any legislation that would allow rapid expansion and development for hyperscale, artificial intelligence, and other traditional data centers”.
Some efforts to protect water resources have had limited success, as has growing backlash over secret deals that allow data center development without public notice.
In Utah, a hyperscale data center in Box Elder County withdrew an application to transfer 1,900 acre-feet of water from a farm to its facility. Nearly 4,000 residents paid about $15 to file notices of opposition to stop that request, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Although that battle was won, residents remain hopeful that the bigger fight is far from over.
As the war against data centers moves beyond Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board published an op-ed warning that the more officials ignore residents’ legitimate concerns about things like water supply, electric bills, air quality and quality of life, the risk of trust is eroded.
The editorial board wrote, “Even if the data center is not as terrible as feared – or if it is never actually built – the stink associated with a hasty and secretive political process will take a very long time to dissipate.” “If it ever happens.”
<a href