A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to create a new tax credit for water recycling projects in a bid to reduce water use from industrial facilities and artificial intelligence data centers. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) on Wednesday introduced the “Advancing Water Reuse Act.” The bill would offer companies a 30 percent investment tax credit for installing or expanding water recycling systems at manufacturing sites, including food processing facilities and data centers. Water recycling or reuse refers to efforts to treat wastewater so that it can be used again for industry, irrigation or drinking. The idea is gaining steam across the nation, especially in the arid West and in places seeing a resurgence in manufacturing or a growing number of data center projects.

Other data center water use news:

• Navajo Times: Gallup data center water deal draws Navajo concerns
• inewsource (San Diego): Amid outcry, this California city may block data centers on its turf
• Fortune: America’s data centers are thirsty. Rural towns are paying the price—from tanked water pressure to stolen desert groundwater
• ABC15 (Phoenix): As data center projects continue in AZ, national poll shows wide disapproval
• Next10: News release: The intersection of data center development, water availability, and environmental justice in California
• Big Pivots: Blog: Why did this data center bill die?