Charlotte City Council Members Link Data Centers to Drought, Discuss Moratorium

Charlotte City Council members are raising concerns about the proliferation of data centers in the region, particularly in light of an ongoing severe drought that has led Charlotte Water to impose water use restrictions on residents. Council member Dimple Ajmera highlighted that data centers, which can consume hundreds of thousands of gallons of water daily, currently proceed "by right" without sufficient scrutiny, placing significant demands on water, energy, and land use systems. Ajmera advocated for a public hearing next month as a precursor to a potential moratorium on data center development in Charlotte. However, a majority of her colleagues voted against the public hearing, opting instead to discuss the issue at a meeting next week. Council member Kimberly Owens expressed the need for more information before pursuing a moratorium and voiced concerns that some might be using data centers to curb AI development. Nevertheless, she emphasized the importance of being "good stewards of our resources, particularly our water." While Charlotte Water officials refrained from commenting directly on data centers during a media availability about the drought, the council's discussions indicate a growing political will to scrutinize or restrict data center growth due to environmental and resource concerns.