US Data Centers Could Demand Water Equal to NYC's Daily Supply by 2030
A UC Riverside study (not yet peer-reviewed, posted on arXiv) projects peak water demand for U.S. data centers could reach 697 million to 1.45 billion gallons per day by 2030—roughly matching New York City's daily water supply—driven by water-intensive cooling. Building this capacity could cost $10–$58 billion, with much of the financial burden on host communities; the researchers urge requiring peak-demand reporting and forging corporate–community partnerships to fund upgrades, since most operators disclose only annual usage. If water is scarce, data centers may switch to less efficient dry cooling, increasing energy use and stressing grids. The study uses a conservative peak-to-average ratio of 4.5.
- US Data Centers Could Require as Much Water as New York City by 2030, Study Shows Gizmodo
- Arizona’s water is drying up. That’s not stopping the data center rush. grist.org
- AI Data Centers: What to Know About Their Water and Energy Use CNET
- Data Centre Cooling in a Desert Climate Data Centre Magazine
- Managing Arizona’s most precious resource: TSMC Arizona’s thoughtful plan for managing water use AZ Big Media
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