AI data center experts advise farmers, residents and officials to dig for water details
Experts are advising California residents and officials to prioritize water details and set boundaries with data center developers, as new proposals in Tulare and Kings counties face significant community opposition. A Virginia supervisor shared insights on managing water consumption, advocating for closed-loop systems for new data centers. Officials are also warned against signing NDAs with developers to maintain transparency.
Data center experts have urged California residents and elected officials to establish clear boundaries with developers, particularly concerning resource impacts, as data center expansion rapidly continues across the state. This advice originated from an Agri-Pulse webinar on August 27, which focused on how rural communities can mitigate data center demands on local resources. The discussion highlighted that AI data centers require substantially more energy and water than traditional data centers, especially for advanced water-cooled systems.
Mike Turner, a Loudoun County, Virginia Supervisor, shared his county's experience, where its approximately 253 AI data centers consume 10% of the potable water supply. He noted that most data centers in Loudoun use closed-loop systems, which require a large initial water charge but minimal replenishment thereafter. Turner strongly advocated for mandating closed-loop water systems for any new data centers.
Locally, proposals for two edge node data centers on fairgrounds in California's Tulare and Kings counties have triggered considerable resident opposition, with community members attending board and city council meetings to voice their concerns. These compact AI data centers, developed by Global Stack USA, utilize closed-loop cooling and reportedly would not connect to municipal water supplies. These specific proposals are currently on hold and are not expected to be formally reviewed by the fairground boards for several months.
Furthermore, Turner cautioned elected leaders against signing non-disclosure agreements with developers, emphasizing that such actions could erode public trust and undermine the transparency demanded by communities affected by data center developments.