Help communities understand the water impacts of data centers
California is facing increasing demands on its water resources due to data center expansion, yet communities lack sufficient state support and information to assess water impacts. Two pending bills (AB2619 and AB2469) aim to improve transparency and provide guidance, but the authors argue they need strengthening to fully protect local water supplies and aid decision-makers. Governor Newsom previously vetoed similar disclosure legislation, citing concerns for the tech sector.
California faces growing challenges managing water resources due to the rapid expansion of data centers, according to an opinion piece in Capitol Weekly. Authors Marie Grimm, Ph.D., an environmental policy research fellow, and Michael Kiparsky, Ph.D., director of the Wheeler Water Institute at UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, highlight a critical lack of state-level coordination and support for communities trying to understand the water implications of data center developments. They point to examples, such as a hyperscale project in Imperial that would require 750,000 gallons of water daily, where local utilities deny agreements for recycled water exist, creating significant risk for the county's water system.
The authors commend legislative efforts but argue that proposed bills AB2619 and AB2469, both introduced by Assemblymember Papan, need to be strengthened. While AB2619 offers "guidance" and AB2469 mandates water use assessments and tracking, Grimm and Kiparsky contend that communities require more robust technical assistance and that collected data must be centrally analyzed by the state to be effective. Without this, fragmented data will persist, hindering informed decision-making and preventing a clear understanding of long-term impacts, which are effectively permanent once data centers are established.
The piece also references Governor Newsom's prior veto of a data center water disclosure bill, where he expressed concerns about its impact on California's technology sector. The authors assert that protecting local water supplies is equally vital and that California can simultaneously acknowledge the importance of data centers and safeguard community resources.