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AI Datacenters Project 73 B Gallons Water Use by 2028

6/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

AI datacenter developers plan water demand of 73 billion gallons per year by 2028, up from 17 billion in 2023.
517 of 809 planned hyperscale datacenters sit in drought-affected regions, per Cleanview and federal data.
Texas officials project datacenters could account for 9 % of the state’s water use by 2040.
Lawmakers in California, Michigan, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas and New York are considering bills to require water-use reports or closed-loop cooling.

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Story summary

AI datacenter developers plan water demand of 73 billion gallons per year by 2028, up from 17 billion in 2023.
517 of 809 planned hyperscale datacenters sit in drought-affected regions, per Cleanview and federal data.
Texas officials project datacenters could account for 9 % of the state’s water use by 2040.
Lawmakers in California, Michigan, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas and New York are considering bills to require water-use reports or closed-loop cooling.