… As the state grapples with artificial intelligence and how to regulate the industry, attempts to add data centers to support this wave of technology are being met with strong resistance. Earlier this month in Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles, residents overwhelmingly voted to permanently ban data centers in the city. HMC Statcap is an Australian Company, and it had planned to build an AI data center in Monterey Park. … Residents packed a city council meeting in January to protest the plans. [Resident Yun] Wang said the city council didn’t really address residents’ concerns about water and electricity use. And so residents started organizing. Three months later, the city council voted to place a measure banning data centers on the June ballot. 

Other data center water use news:

• ABC News: AI is an energy and water hog; here’s what you can do to counter that
• Yale Climate Connections: Blog: How bad is AI for the environment?
• Civil Eats: Opinion: AI data centers are a threat to local food systems