On Aurora’s eastern edge, where the bustle of metro Denver fades to farms, the first building of what will become the state’s largest data center stands behind a wrought-iron fence. … Seventeen miles west, in a dusty industrial nook of northern Denver, workers on a recent day scattered across a huge pit dug into the earth to lay the foundation for that city’s newest data center. The two construction sites offer a glimpse into what a predicted boom in Colorado’s data center industry may look like as the industry expands exponentially nationwide to meet the needs of Americans’ increasingly online lives — and to provide the computing power demanded by artificial intelligence. The potential growth — and repeated proposals for state incentives to expedite that development — are creating concerns that the centers’ required power and cooling needs could keep Colorado from meeting its climate goals and drain already-stretched water resources.

Other data center water use news:

• Local News Matters (Berkeley, Calif.): As data centers multiply, Santa Clara leaders, residents question its environmental impacts​
• AZ Big Media (Phoenix): The infrastructure behind AI: How contractors are powering Arizona data center surge​