California Considers Bills to Increase Data Center Water Use Transparency

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has claimed that concerns about artificial intelligence's water usage are unfounded, stating that 38,000 ChatGPT queries consume as much water as producing a single almond in California. However, experts like Shaolei Ren from UC Riverside and Michael Kiparsky from UC Berkeley's Wheeler Water Institute contend that it's impossible to verify such claims due to the data center industry's lack of transparency.

In response to these transparency issues, California lawmakers have passed two bills, introduced by Assemblymember Diane Papan of San Mateo, which are now awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom's signature. One bill would mandate data center operators to report their water sources and usage when applying for business permits. The second would prevent local governments from approving new data centers unless developers disclose their water plans and cover the costs of necessary water infrastructure upgrades. These legislative efforts, which mirror a bill Newsom vetoed last year, are meeting resistance from the tech industry and business groups amidst increasing local opposition and bans on data center developments across California.