AI data centers are gulping up to 5 million gallons of water per day — and two-thirds of new U.S. facilities have been built in areas already running low on water.
At a Glance
- A single large AI data center can use as much water daily as 50,000 people, mostly for cooling systems.
- Two-thirds of new U.S. data centers built since 2022 sit in high water-stress zones.
- Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have 38 operating data centers in water-stressed regions, with 24 more on the way.
- Texas data centers alone could use up to 399 billion gallons of water per year by 2030.
AI’s Water Appetite Is Growing Fast
AI data centers need enormous amounts of water to keep their computer systems cool. One large facility can use up to 5 million gallons per day — the same as a city of 50,000 people. Across the entire country, direct water use by data centers jumped from 21 billion liters in 2014 to 66 billion liters in 2023. By 2028, U.S. data centers are projected to consume 73 billion gallons per year, up from just 17 billion in 2023.
Texas shows just how serious this could get. Data centers there are projected to use 49 billion gallons of water in 2025. That number could explode to 399 billion gallons by 2030. These are not small, abstract figures. They represent real pressure on rivers, aquifers, and the wells that rural families and farmers depend on every day.
Big Tech Is Building in the Wrong Places
An investigation by The Guardian and SourceMaterial found that Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have 38 operating data centers in water-stressed regions right now. Another 24 are under development. Microsoft reported that 42% of its water supply came from water-stressed areas in 2023. Google reported 15% of its water came from regions with high water scarcity. These companies know where they are building — and they are building there anyway.
Two-thirds of all new U.S. data centers built since 2022 are located in high water-stress zones. Local governments often welcome these projects for the tax revenue and jobs they bring. But that short-term gain may come at the cost of long-term water security for the communities that live there. A research paper published in June 2026 found that data centers impose water burdens ranging from 0.2% to as high as 134% of a host community’s total water capacity.
Regulators Are Behind the Curve
No federal law requires AI data centers to report how much water they use. States like Minnesota, Virginia, and California have started requiring some water reporting, but most of the country has no such rules. Forbes reported that local governments are struggling to keep up with the speed of AI infrastructure growth, and current permitting systems have no real tools to limit water use. That means data centers can move into drought-prone areas with little pushback from regulators.
It is worth being honest about what the evidence does and does not show. Researchers have documented massive water use and the placement of data centers in stressed regions. But no published hydrological study has yet traced a specific dried-up private well directly to a named data center’s operations. That gap in the evidence does not mean the problem isn’t real — it means regulators have failed to require the kind of monitoring that would prove it. The families living near these facilities deserve answers, and right now, no one is required to give them.
Sources:
bloomberg.com, eli.org, planet-keeper.org, theguardian.com, lincolninst.edu, arxiv.org, eenews.net, reddit.com
