US AI data centers fuel water strain in drought‑hit regions

An analysis of federal drought data shows that roughly two‑thirds of the 809 AI data centers planned across the United States will be built in areas already experiencing drought, matching the share of existing facilities in such zones. Technology firms, including Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon, favor dry, sparsely populated locations for lower land costs and tax incentives, despite the high water and electricity demands of hyperscale data centers.

Researchers project that U.S. data centers could consume up to 73 billion gallons of water annually by 2028, a sharp rise from 17 billion gallons in 2023. A Meta project in Louisiana’s Richland Parish is expected to draw as much as 1 billion gallons per year from a local aquifer used for agriculture. Similar expansions are slated for Utah, Washington state, and Texas, where water use could account for up to 9 % of the state’s total consumption by 2040. The rapid growth of AI infrastructure is prompting scrutiny over its impact on regional water supplies and rural livelihoods.