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Voters rejected AI data centers over resource concerns. Here's why measuring water usage is hard

Voters approved 40 of 41 proposed ballot measures that would restrict some of the more than 2,000 new AI data centers planned nationwide, with water and power topping ratepayers' concerns. Measuring site-level water use is hard because operators usually report companywide figures, and Shaolei Ren of UC Riverside says a 1-gigawatt AI data center can consume up to 10 million gallons of water per day, depending on hardware, location and cooling method. Modern AI data centers use closed-loop liquid cooling, but total water use depends largely on how heat is released outside the building. Dry cooling uses far less water but can need much more power in hot climates, while evaporative cooling uses little power yet can lose large amounts of water on the hottest days. Equinix consumed 1.2 billion gallons of water across its operations in 2025, up 10% from a year earlier.

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