A new report by the think tank Next10 and Santa Clara University reveals that many generative AI data centers are not being transparent about how much water they’re using.
The AI boom has resulted in new data center facilities that use exponentially more electricity and water than ever before. But because of regulatory loopholes, AI companies don’t have to report on their water usage, straining an already precious resource in California.
Iris Stewart-Frey is a professor of environmental science and the lead author of the report. She says data centers need to show what their water use is to the local water supply planners. "And ideally," Stewart-Frey says, "That data would also be available to the communities where these data centers are being planned and where water is already a big and important issue so that communities for themselves can make those informed decisions."
But AI companies are choosing to build their data centers in drier, rural, and less affluent areas, with more fragile water systems. There's a data center currently being built in Gilroy.
"Gilroy is historically a more rural agricultural community," Stewart-Frey says. "It's also a closed groundwater basin that's separate from the remainder of Santa Clara County. And climatically, it's actually hotter and drier than the remainder of Santa Clara County. So it has higher vulnerabilities. In many ways, it exemplifies this idea of the data centers moving into those spaces away from the tech hubs."
With less resources to advocate for themselves, communities in these areas, already affected by water scarcity, face additional environmental strain.
California has one of the most complex water systems in the world. When one water supply is depleted, it affects surrounding areas that share water basins. Additionally, many supplies rely on water that is imported from other areas of the state. The absence of accurate water usage data from AI centers makes it difficult to effectively and sustainably distribute water across the state.
Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a measure that would have required data centers to disclose their water use. But legislators are still pushing for more regulations. Two new bills have been introduced to make the data public.
