In ​Silicon Valley’s biggest city, residents and environmental groups are organizing against a wave of proposed data center projects that officials have courted ‌in a bid to position the city as a hub for AI infrastructure. The clash highlights a challenge confronting policymakers nationwide: how to support an industry viewed by government and business leaders as critical to economic competitiveness while responding to growing public concerns about the electricity, water and pollution impacts of the infrastructure required to power it. … The fight comes as California Governor Gavin Newsom weighs a package of bills intended to protect state residents from the costs of powering data centers and increase transparency around their energy and water use.

Other data center water use and regulation news:

• The Hill: Data centers, drawing concerns over water and power, may have another surprise impact: Forever chemicals
• Arizona Daily Star (Tucson): Metro Phoenix city to tighten data center rules after 20 years
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: Data center developers must now agree to terms to obtain Nevada tax breaks
• KLAS (Las Vegas): Nevada gov. signs order putting guardrails in place for data center development
• The Atlantic: The data-center debate is divorced from the facts