AI data centers drain millions of gallons daily, sparking voter backlash

Voters passed 40 of 41 ballot measures this week to restrict AI data centers, targeting over 2,000 planned facilities, with water and power use as top concerns. Operators rarely disclose site-level usage, but 1-gigawatt centers from Meta, Google, Amazon, and SpaceX can consume up to 10 million gallons daily, depending on hardware, location, and cooling methods. Modern AI systems use closed-loop liquid cooling internally, but external heat rejection via dry or evaporative cooling drives water use, with trade-offs between water and power consumption.