AI growth is driving a rapid buildout of data centers across the United States in areas already short on clean water, forcing cities and towns to compete with corporate operators for daily supply, according to Bloomberg.
About two-thirds of new data centers built or planned since 2022 reportedly sit in locations facing high water stress. While facilities are spreading nationwide, five states alone account for 72% of those built in the most strained areas.
More than 160 AI-focused sites have appeared in the past three years, marking a 70% increase from the previous three-year period, based on figures from the World Resources Institute and DC Byte.
AI facilities drive daily water consumption into the millions
A single 100-megawatt data center in the United States uses more electricity than 75,000 homes combined and consumes around 2 million liters of water every day, according to an April report from the International Energy Agency. That daily amount matches the needs of roughly 6,500 households. As AI systems expand, water use rises in direct proportion to computing load.
On a global level, data centers now consume about 560 billion liters of water each year. That total could climb to roughly 1,200 billion liters by 2030 as companies deploy larger buildings filled with advanced AI chips that generate intense heat. Cooling those chips is the main reason water demand keeps climbing.
Most facilities rely on evaporative cooling, often called swamp cooling. Warm air is pulled through wet pads to reduce heat inside server halls.
Shaolei Ren, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Riverside, said these centers typically evaporate about 80% of the water they draw and send only 20% back to wastewater treatment systems.
Residential use looks very different, with homes losing about 10% to evaporation and returning the rest. The imbalance places extra strain on municipal systems already stretched thin by drought and population growth.
Political resistance grows as expansion hits stressed regions
The surge in data center construction has triggered rare agreement between political figures who usually clash. Democratic Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida have both criticized the pace of the AI buildout.
Sanders has called for a nationwide pause on new facilities. Speaking to CNN, Bernie said:
“Frankly, I think you’ve got to slow this process down. It’s not good enough for the oligarchs to tell us it’s coming, you adapt. What are they talking about? They’re going to guarantee healthcare to all people? What are they going to do when people have no jobs?”
DeSantis took action at the state level. On December 4, Ron unveiled an AI bill of rights that would allow local communities to block data center construction.
At an event in The Villages, Florida, Ron warned about limits on infrastructure. “We have a limited grid. You do not have enough grid capacity in the United States to do what they’re trying to do,” he said while discussing industry plans.
Ron later addressed residents directly, asking, “As more and more information has gotten out, do you want a hyperscale data center in The Villages? Yes or no.” He answered his own question by saying, “I think most people would say they don’t want it.”
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