American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California
- Think tank Ceres found power generation for data centers in seven states withdraws 3.4 trillion gallons of freshwater a year, or 10.4 million acre-feet
- The figure might be a bit overstated, as it counts withdrawals, including hydropower water returned to the river immediately
- 78% of electricity in those states comes from water-using plants, and 66% of those plants sit in water-stressed areas
Non-profit think tank Ceres has published a new report analyzing the water used to generate electricity for data centers across Virginia, Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio, and Arizona.
Ceres estimates data centers use 3.4 trillion gallons of freshwater a year, or 10.4 million acre-feet.
Bloomberg Law's Bobby Magill compared that unfavorably against the 8 million acre-feet California uses annually for urban purposes, a figure from a 2021 Legislative Analyst's Office report.
An important difference withdrawal versus consumption
Ceres's approach makes sense, but it paints only a partial...
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