Regulating Data Center Water Use in California

The rapid growth of data centers in California is straining the state's water resources. Researchers at UC Berkeley Law have found that the scale of recent data center development and the magnitude of the industry's estimated water use call for a coordinated effort to track and understand their water impacts. They recommend that state and local governments, as well as the data center industry, take action to improve transparency and innovate solutions to reduce data centers' water footprint before the industry's expansion creates irreversible impacts on local communities and ecosystems.