This is the first post in an 11-part series unpacking a nuanced conversation around data centers from, GTI’s Head of Learning & Enablement, Shelly Love. We’re starting where the conversation gets the most heated: water. If you follow data center news in the Southwest, you’ve probably seen the headlines. A proposed AI data center recently found itself in a legal fight over access to Colorado River water, and it reignited a debate that’s been simmering across dry, fast-growing states for years: how much water do these facilities actually use, and who decides where it comes from?
That’s a fair question. It’s also one that gets flattened into a soundbite far too often. The truth is more complicated, and more useful, than “data centers drain the water supply.”
Why Water Is the Flashpoint of This Debate
Water is, understandably, the most emotional part of the data center conversation, especially in places like Arizona and the rest of the Desert Southwest, where water rights and long-term supply are already sensitive topics before a data center ever enters the picture. Recent controversy over a proposed AI facility seeking access to Colorado River water shows exactly why communities here are right to ask hard questions about water sources and long-term priorities.
But asking the right questions matters as much as asking the questions at all. Not every data center uses water the same way, and treating them as identical undersells both the legitimate concerns and the real progress happening in facility design. [1]
Not All Data Centers Use Water the Same Way
Cooling technology varies. Climate varies. Local water stress varies. And the source of the water itself, whether it’s potable municipal supply, reclaimed water, or a closed-loop system that barely touches fresh water at all, changes the entire conversation.
The Uptime Institute has made this point clearly: water use doesn’t fit a standard template, because every data center location has its own distinct “water signature.”[2] A facility built in a water-stressed region and drawing on potable water raises very different concerns than one using reclaimed water or a closed-loop cooling design. Lumping them together isn’t accurate, and it isn’t helpful.
The Cooling Trade-Off Most People Never Hear About
Here’s where the conversation usually stops short: cooling isn’t a free choice between “uses water” and “doesn’t.” Equinix, a major data center operator, has explained the trade-off directly. Evaporative cooling can reduce a facility’s energy use but increases water consumption. Air cooling can reduce or eliminate direct water use, but it draws more power to do the same job.
In other words, telling a developer to “just use no water” can sound reasonable and still backfire, since it can quietly shift the burden onto the electrical grid instead of the water supply.
That trade-off is exactly why the water conversation and the power conversation can’t be separated. A facility that shifts to air-cooling to conserve water needs a meaningfully larger, better-engineered electrical infrastructure to handle the added load reliably: more robust medium-voltage distribution, more resilient backup systems, and often a stronger case for on-site solar or battery storage to offset the difference. It’s the kind of planning problem GTI’s teams work through on data center electrical projects across the Southwest, including large-scale work like the Phoenix-area hyperscale campus support our crews have delivered. The right answer isn’t “no water” or “no limits on power.” It’s matching the cooling strategy to the site, the climate, and the grid.[3]
What the Industry Is Already Doing
To its credit, the industry is starting to respond. Google’s 2026 water stewardship commitments point toward more transparent water reporting, replenishment commitments, and a stronger focus on managing local impacts at the facilities they build and operate.[4] Because that’s a corporate source, it’s worth reading as Google’s own framing rather than proof that every operator behaves the same way. Still, it shows the kind of commitment communities should be asking every developer for, not just the biggest names.
Questions Communities Should Actually Ask
Ignoring water concerns would be irresponsible. So would treating every project as identical. The better path is asking sharper, more specific questions before a project breaks ground:
- How much water will the facility use?
- Will it use potable water, reclaimed water, or another source?
- What cooling technology is planned, and why?
- How does the design perform during peak summer heat?
- Will water use be publicly reported, and how often?
- How does the project affect local water stress, both now and at build-out?
- What alternatives were evaluated before this design was chosen?
- What happens to operations during drought conditions?
A community that asks these questions isn’t standing in the way of progress. It’s doing exactly what any responsible host of major infrastructure should do.
The Bottom Line
The goal here should be responsible water stewardship, not slogan-based decision-making in either direction. Reflexive opposition ignores design differences that genuinely matter. Reflexive approval ignores legitimate local risk. Getting this right requires developers, utilities, and contractors who understand both sides of the trade-off, and who can build the systems- water and electrical- to match.
This is the first entry in our series on the real conversation around data centers in the Southwest.
Next up: why the cloud isn’t actually “in the cloud” at all, and what that means for the communities being asked to host it.
Have a data center project in the planning stages? Talk to GTI’s team about the electrical infrastructure behind it.
References
- Business Insider, “An AI data center suing for Colorado River water highlights a bigger question,” June 30, 2026.
- Uptime Institute, “Water is local: generalities do not apply,” May 28, 2025
- Equinix, “What Is Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) in Data Centers?” November 13, 2024
- Google, “Google’s water stewardship commitments for local communities,” June 3, 2026