US data centers for AI face water scarcity as drought expands

The rapid expansion of AI data centers in the United States is increasingly colliding with severe drought conditions. According to The Guardian, 517 of the 809 planned data centers are located in areas experiencing drought in 2025, representing nearly two-thirds of all projects Source: clarin. This comes as Gallup finds that seven in ten Americans oppose having a data center built in their locality, citing water and energy concerns Source: clarin.

Water consumption issues

A single data center can consume as much water daily as a city of 50,000 people — about five million gallons Source: clarin. Total annual water use by US data centers is projected to reach 73 billion gallons by 2028, up from 17 billion in 2023. Remarkably, a 100-word AI query uses half a liter of water Source: clarin. However, official figures may significantly understate real consumption because companies typically only report direct water use for cooling, ignoring the water needed to generate the electricity powering the centers. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that indirect water use is historically 12 times greater than direct use Source: elconfidencial.

Reporting gaps

Google's 2025 sustainability report states it consumed 41 billion liters of water directly, a 34% increase from the prior year, but research suggests its indirect consumption is roughly three times that Source: elconfidencial. Meta's indirect water use in 2024 was 72 billion liters, 20 times its direct consumption Source: elconfidencial. Among major tech firms, only Meta accounts for water used at power plants supplying its electricity . No law requires full disclosure, and critics — including 16 state attorneys general — argue that renewable energy credits do not offset local water depletion .