• Updated

Across the Mountain West, data center construction has been slowed by local opposition, fueled in part by misunderstandings about the water consumption associated with the industry. Articles like “AI Chugs a Bottle of Water Every Time You Chat With It,” and “The Dark Side of Data Centers Part 2: Water Guzzlers” give the impression that data centers are uniquely intense in their water consumption. This phrasing has also shown up in recent legislative bills. Idaho’s recently passed House Bill 895 claims data centers “require significant amounts of water.” Washington HB 2515 says data centers “are also major users of … water.”