A California lawmaker is calling on the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to halt a controversial data center project until they answer “critical questions.” In sharply-worded statements last week, State Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) said the development, specifically the county’s planning process, had been “shrouded in secrecy.” He said county officials had yet to reply directly to his December letter seeking more information about their planning process and the data center’s water and energy needs. … County staffers told Padilla’s office they expected the data center would use reclaimed water or alternative cooling technologies, “rather than reliance on water supplied by [the Imperial Irrigation District].”

Other data center water news:

• Bloomberg: Water is still too much of an afterthought for data centers
• Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah): Does the data center industry need guardrails?