The expanding use of generative AI is driving a boom in data center development, with more and bigger data centers under construction around the world. California is already home to hundreds of data centers and their numbers keep growing. One impact is growing demands on California’s already stressed water resources. Although data centers are estimated to be among the top ten water consuming industries in the United States, their water use and related impacts are understudied, and approaches for managing water use and impacts have not kept pace with the industry’s rapid growth.
This report examines the current state of knowledge about data center water use and what can be done to better understand and manage its impacts. We concentrate on data centers’ direct on-site water use in California, a major hub for data center construction where water stress is an ongoing challenge.
In this report, we:
• summarize the current state of knowledge on direct data center water use and ways to mitigate it;
• map the policy and regulatory landscape for direct data center water use in California; and
• synthesize gaps, opportunities, and recommendations for state and local policy and decision makers and for data center developers, owners, and operators.