The rapid growth of data centers is raising a new concern: Depletion of drinking water supplies across the Midwest.<\/p>\n
Large data centers, many devoted to researching artificial intelligence, are expected to use more than 150 billion gallons of water across the U.S. over the next five years, according to the advocacy organization Alliance for the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s enough water to supply 4.6 million homes.<\/p>\n
The data centers, which also use large amounts of power<\/a>, need water for cooling and because of the size of the large operations \u2014 sometimes more than 10,000 square feet \u2014 an enormous amount is needed for each site.<\/p>\n But in almost all instances, the amount of water that\u2019s being withdrawn for a single data center development is unknown because secrecy agreements between government bodies and companies keep this information from being publicly disclosed, according to Helena Volzer, water policy expert with the Chicago-based group.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the focus around data centers has been on the energy side,\u201d Volzer said. \u201cWhat we don\u2019t know about water questions is more than what we do know.\u201d<\/p>\n An industry representative said many data centers are mindful of the concerns and are working to use water efficiently.<\/p>\n