A closely watched legal battle has erupted over what could become one of California’s largest data centers — and whether a county can pursue emergency measures to halt development. The fight is centered in Imperial County, where Huntington Beach-based developer Sebastian Rucci has been pursuing a plan to build a data center half the size of Levi’s Stadium. … After community outcry, the county passed a moratorium on new data centers — preventing Rucci’s application, and all others, from being approved. … Imperial County is one of at least a dozen California localities that have passed moratoriums on new data centers in response to public fears that the developments could cause pollution, drive up utility rates or suck up water.

Other data center water use news:

• Forbes: The water and energy impact of AI: some comparisons
• The Conversation: Blog: Data centres and democratic decline could lead to more water conflict in the future
• The Modesto Bee (Calif.): Opinion: Proposed data center in Modesto is an opportunity for negotiation