… Data centers are also straining water supplies, raising questions about scarcity across the dry Mountain West – from the Colorado River and the communities it serves to the Great Basin region, in places like Reno, Nevada, where a data center park one-and-a-half times the size of the city is growing next door. U.S. data centers used 17 billion gallons of water, or enough for 150,000 homes for a year, according to a 2024 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report. That water demand is projected to double or even quadruple within the next few years, according to the federal report.

Other data center water use news:

• Mountain West News Bureau: As AI data centers multiply across the Mountain West, so do fears over water use
• Context News: Data centres lured to Mexico can avoid environmental reporting​