As controversy over data centers swells in communities around the Bay Area and the nation, Santa Clara leaders are pushing to beef up the city’s regulations and standards for future data center development. In an hourslong and at times tense discussion that began Tuesday night and stretched to nearly 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Santa Clara City Council directed city staff to prioritize tightening air pollution and water use regulations for new data centers in the city as they take a more comprehensive look at all city policies related to data centers. … The city already requires data centers built after December 2022 to use the equivalent of carbon-neutral power, through purchasing offsets, encourages the use of recycled water and asks developers to expand recycled water infrastructure during buildouts, city staff said. 

Other data center water use and regulation news:

• The Sacramento Bee (Calif.): Opinion: Everyone hates data centers. Sacramento has good reasons to welcome them​
• National Conference of State Legislatures: Blog: As they consider new data centers, states target water use​​