Nukes and AI require 1.4 million gallons of water a day at New Mexico lab

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is embarking on its largest expansion since the Manhattan Project, involving the production of plutonium bomb cores and the construction of a new 100,000-square-foot facility for artificial intelligence supercomputers, along with microreactors. This expansion is projected to require approximately 1.4 million gallons of water daily for at least a decade, drawn from the Española Basin, a sole-source aquifer serving northern New Mexico that is already experiencing declining well levels. Environmental groups, such as Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety led by executive director Joni Arends, have expressed strong opposition, highlighting the contrast between the lab's water use for nuclear weapons and AI, and the region's severe water shortages exacerbated by climate change. Los Alamos County's Public Utilities Department manager, Philo Shelton, acknowledged the challenge of meeting increased water demands and the complications arising from a chromium plume contamination from past lab operations. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released an environmental impact statement asserting that the continued pumping of the regional aquifer would likely be sustainable for hundreds of years and that impacts of the expansion would be negligible. However, a previous executive order rescinding the National Environmental Protection Act curtailed public input on the DOE's final decision. This development at LANL reflects a broader trend of technological facilities, including AI data centers, increasing water demands in the West. Public sentiment in New Mexico has been strongly against similar projects, such as the Project Jupiter data center campus in Santa Teresa, which was protested before its approval, and Meta's data center in central New Mexico, both also requiring substantial water. The article concludes by noting the fading recognition of climate change and drought as national security threats, even as water resources become critical for "the next chapter of national security."