Drought-Ravaged Georgia Asks Data Centers to Cut Water Use
Due to drought conditions, planners in metropolitan Atlanta are urging AI data center developers to reduce their water consumption. The Atlanta Regional Commission highlighted the significant and varying water demands of data centers, noting the Atlanta area is the second-largest data center market in the US.
Drought-affected Georgia is facing challenges with the substantial water demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Planners in metropolitan Atlanta are actively encouraging developers to address community concerns by reducing their water usage.
Celine Benoit, a principal planner for the Atlanta Regional Commission and Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, spoke at the American Water Works Association’s annual conference in Washington. She emphasized the difficulty in quantifying the exact water requirements of data centers, which can vary widely.
The Atlanta area ranks as the second-largest data center market in the United States based on megawatt capacity, trailing only northern Virginia, underscoring the region's significant role in the data center industry. The call for reduced water use comes amidst ongoing drought conditions.