Oklahoma water demand forecast rises 13% by 2075 but omits data center impact

Oklahoma’s demand for water is expected to rise over the next 50 years. Still, a new statewide forecast does not account for what officials and experts say could become one of the biggest unknowns: large data centers. The report projects total water demand will increase from 1.96 million acre-feet per year in 2020 to 2.22 million acre-feet by 2075, a 13% increase. Agriculture remains the state’s biggest water user. Crop irrigation accounts for more than half of Oklahoma’s water demand and is projected to increase 14% by 2075. The second-largest increase comes from public supply. As Oklahoma’s population grows from about 3.96 million people to 4.76 million, water demand is expected to increase 18%. Self-supplied domestic use is projected to increase 17%. Industrial demand is projected to increase 10%. The forecast projects that livestock water demand will drop by 5%, while thermoelectric power demand is projected to drop by 12%. Oil and gas demand is flat. However, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board said the projections did not include future demand from new facilities such as data centers. Matt Cogburn of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board said, “Our projections did not look at what people call hyperscale, larger data centers.” The Oklahoma Water Resources Board said the state’s water forecast did not include future demand from new facilities that secured water permits because there was no reliable information to estimate their water use. The report notes 20 industries holding 23 industrial water use permits reported qualifying data to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and are included in the forecast’s industrial sector, but the water-user data was not included to protect privacy. Travis Roach, an economics professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, criticized the omission. Roach said, “At the time of this report’s writing, there was already well-reported information of our government trying to extend tax benefits to these data centers entering the state. So, this was either an egregious error to omit this, or it was purposeful.” He added, “I cannot imagine a scenario in which you do not include data center demand in a state’s water comprehensive plan. It’s wild.” Asked whether people should worry about turning on their faucet and water not coming out in the next 50 years, Cogburn said, “I think it depends on how that data center plans to use water. Again, how that project is designed and how the community’s supplying them with water, looking into the future needs and taking that into account.” Roach pointed to a potential example in Oklahoma City, saying, “Oklahoma City is considering a data project, and I think it would include about a new 5 million gallons per day water draw. That’s about 5% of our total city delivery. So, any given day the city is providing 100 million gallons per day. So, this is equivalent to taking water away from 75,000 people for a single data center.” ___________ Follow KOKH on social media: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fox25news Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxokc Twitter: https://twitter.com/OKCFOX Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okcfox/ Newsletter sign-up: https://okcfox.com/sign-up Have a tip? Email us at news@okcfox.com Have a video or photo you want to share? Upload it to okcfox.com/chimein/ www.okcfox.com FOX 25 is an Oklahoma-based station and a FOX television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 163 television stations in 77 markets. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 38.7% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision, and Azteca affiliates. #okc #oklahoma #news #fox25