A new kind of gold rush is sweeping the West, and this time the prize isn’t minerals but megawatts. From Phoenix to Colorado’s Front Range, data centers are arriving with outsize demands for power and water. In a new report, the regional environmental advocacy group Western Resource Advocates (WRA) warns that without stronger guardrails, the financial and environmental costs could fall on everyday households. … Where the potential water needed for new data centers can be estimated, the scale is sobering. In Nevada, for example, currently proposed new data centers will consume an estimated 4.5 billion gallons of water in 2030, if built with conventional cooling. 

Other data center water use news:

• The Daily Journal (San Mateo, Calif.): Mullin questions data center impact on residential power bills 
• Futurism: Blog: Leaked document shows Amazon scheming to keep AI data center water use secret​​