AI Data Centers Accused of Creating Major Problems for Local Water Systems
“For tech companies, “water is an afterthought.”
According to a report from last year cited by the newspaper, Newton County is on track to be in a water deficit by 2030, forcing residents to ration water if the water authority’s facilities aren’t upgraded.
Blair Northen, the mayor of Mansfield, a town in Newton County, described the situation as “absolutely terrible.” As it stands, water rates will surge by 33 percent, far above the typical two percent annual climb, Northen told the NYT.
Generative AI’s ghastly environmental toll is hardly a secret, despite tech companies trying to keep specific data about its energy bills, water consumption, and carbon emissions under wraps. But now we’re starting to see more residents witnessing the effects of tech’s voracious demands firsthand as the AI race marches on.
And it’s on track to get even worse. Older data centers like Meta’s in Newton typically use 500,000 gallons of water per day, according to the NYT. But permit applications examined by the paper suggest that new facilities will guzzle millions of gallons per day.
https://futurism.com/ai-data-center-water
Why can’t these data centers recycle their own water for cooling and leave the residents’ water alone?..................