A Big Problem With AI Data Centers: Water

It's a lesser known fact about AI data centers now popping up around the country and the world: They need immense quantities of water to operate. The New York Times explores the issue through the lens of Newton County, Georgia, where Meta has built one such facility. The massive site is a mere 1,000 feet from the home of Beverly and Jeff Morris, who have suddenly started having big problems with their well. As in, within a year after Meta broke ground in 2018, their taps ran dry, writes Eli Tan. Meta doesn't think its facility caused the problem, but the story sees a bigger issue at play:

• "As tech giants like Meta build data centers in the area, local wells have been damaged, the cost of municipal water has soared and the county's water commission may face a shortage of the vital resource."

And it's not just Newton County. The story reports that similar problems have cropped up in places as far-flung as Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and the United Arab Emirates. The problem is that the data centers require lots and lots of water: The Newton site requires about 500,000 gallons day, but the Times reports that permits for new data centers elsewhere are requesting millions of gallons per day. "Water is an afterthought" for tech companies, says Newsha Ajami, a Stanford hydrologist. "The thinking is, 'Someone will figure that out later.'" (Read the full story.)