Map Shows Data Centers Near Lake Mead Amid Dire Water Levels
Data centers in the Las Vegas area near Lake Mead are facing scrutiny due to the reservoir's critically low water levels and the facilities' high resource consumption. Residents in Boulder City have opposed a proposed data center, leading to the Planning Commission recommending its denial. The project's fate now rests with the City Council amidst concerns over water, energy, noise, and pollution.
Data centers located near Lake Mead in Nevada are drawing significant attention and concern due to the severe, prolonged drought impacting the reservoir's historically low water levels. With over 4,300 data centers across the U.S., including 70 in Nevada and dozens in Las Vegas, their water and power intensive operations are under increasing scrutiny.
The article highlights specific facilities, such as Google's Henderson data center and Switch's The Core Campus. Google's facility, estimated at 750,000 square feet with 60 megawatts of capacity, uses water for cooling, though the company claims its 2023 water stewardship replenished more water to the Colorado River Basin than consumed. However, data from the Las Vegas Review-Journal indicates that 23 Southern Nevada data centers collectively used over 716 million gallons of water in 2024, equivalent to the yearly needs of approximately 4,395 single-family homes.
Local opposition has mounted against new data center construction in the region. Residents in Boulder City actively opposed a proposed 88.5-acre AI data center near Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, with an online petition gathering about 2,100 signatures. The Boulder City Planning Commission subsequently voted to recommend denial of this project, citing resident concerns over energy and water demand, noise, air pollution, and heat. The proposal is now awaiting a decision from the Boulder City Council.
The broader context is Lake Mead's critical state, being only 30 percent full as of a recent measurement, according to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation data. This situation along the Colorado River system, which supplies water to 40 million people and irrigates 5 million acres of farmland in the western U.S., amplifies concerns about resource strain from new industrial developments.