Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are among the tech companies spending an estimated $1 trillion on AI infrastructure this year and last. In some regions, they are using far more water than they report, depending on how data centers are powered. And their water consumption is projected to grow rapidly in coming years. Water demands of the biggest infrastructure buildout in U.S. history could lead to regional fights over who gets an increasingly scarce resource, writes The Wall Street Journal (July 3, 2026).
Google’s just-released 2025 sustainability report is an instructive example. The company said it consumed 10.9 billion gallons of water—a 34% increase from 2024—almost all for data-center cooling. Meta’s water use was 19 billion gallons in 2024. Meta has a plan to “become water positive in 2030,” in part through water-restoration projects. Microsoft has announced data centers that will have zero water use, as well as a commitment to “community-first AI infrastructure.” This includes a pledge to “replenish more water than we use.”
Cheap land and cheap power have put data centers in the high water-stress areas such as Arizona. About 2/3 of new data-center construction in the U.S. is in water-stressed areas. Phoenix is an example: the total water demands of data centers there amount to 3% of the city’s annual water use. By 2031, they could be in excess of 20%, a number approaching total water used by residents to maintain all of Phoenix’s lawns and landscaping.
Recently, Nvidia said it had solved the data-center water issue, showing off a closed-loop cooling system that doesn’t require additional water once filled. Unfortunately, most existing data centers use evaporative cooling systems that are energy-efficient but water-hungry, and retrofitting those could be prohibitively expensive.
In these boom times, it’s clear why AI data centers are in the spotlight. And the lack of transparency and widespread use of non-disclosure agreements by many data-center builders has only drawn more suspicion and distrust. These are among the reasons that $170 billion of AI data-center capacity has been blocked, stalled or canceled since 2024.
Classroom discussion questions:
- What solutions are being considered to deal with electricity and water demands?
- Are data centers overbuilding?