{"id":3760,"date":"2025-07-31T01:47:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T01:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/us-residents-told-to-cut-water-use-while-ai-data-centres-guzzle-millions-amid-drought\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T01:47:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T01:47:33","slug":"us-residents-told-to-cut-water-use-while-ai-data-centres-guzzle-millions-amid-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/us-residents-told-to-cut-water-use-while-ai-data-centres-guzzle-millions-amid-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"US residents told to cut water use while AI data centres guzzle millions amid drought"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2>Texas residents told to reduce water use as AI data centres guzzle millions of gallons<\/h2>\n<p>As Texas struggles with a drought, more artificial intelligence (AI) data centres are popping up across the state, consuming massive amounts of water to cool their servers &mdash; even as residents face restrictions on their own water use.<\/p>\n<p>To make matters worse, pushback from locals has had little effect, as officials are limited by state laws.<\/p>\n<h3>Loose regulations in Texas attract data centres<\/h3>\n<p>According to The Austin Chronicle, many data centres are being built in the state due to its loose regulations on power and water usage.<\/p>\n<p>As the only independent energy grid in the United States (US), Texas appeals to businesses with its lower energy costs and access to groundwater for cooling.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_639149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><noscript><\/noscript>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-639149\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: KVUE on YouTube<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>One such data centre is the Stargate campus in Abilene, a massive facility backed by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank.<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/12-weeks-jail-for-school-it-support-technician-who-took-upskirt-videos-of-teachers\/\" class=\"template-1\"><span class=\"cta\">News :<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">&lt;div&gt;12 weeks' jail for school IT support technician who took upskirt videos of teachers&lt;\/div&gt;<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>Once operational, it&rsquo;s expected to consume enough electricity to power around 750,000 homes. To meet that demand, the project includes plans to build its own natural gas power plant.<\/p>\n<p>With more centres like these projected to be built, experts are raising concerns about water availability for residents.<\/p>\n<p>Larger data centres can use up to 4.5 million gallons of water per day. The city of Austin already has 47 such centres.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_639150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-639150\" class=\"wp-image-639150 size-full lazyload\" alt=\"water ai data centres drought\" width=\"1194\" height=\"642\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2.jpg 1194w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2-600x323.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2-1024x551.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2-150x81.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-639150\" class=\"wp-image-639150 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2.jpg\" alt=\"water ai data centres drought\" width=\"1194\" height=\"642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2.jpg 1194w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2-600x323.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2-1024x551.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/water-ai-data-centres-2-150x81.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\"><\/noscript>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-639150\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: KVUE on YouTube<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Houston Advanced Research Center predicts that data centres in Texas will consume 49 billion gallons of water in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>That figure is expected to balloon to 399 billion gallons by 2030, accounting for nearly 7% of the state&rsquo;s total projected water use.<\/p>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/migrant-acquitted-in-first-trial-over-us-border-military-zones\/\" class=\"template-1\"><span class=\"cta\">News :<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>This is especially troubling as many parts of Texas are already experiencing severe drought. Residents have even been asked to reduce their water usage as a result.<\/p>\n<p>According to CBS Austin, some experts have suggested shifting workloads to nighttime hours when it&rsquo;s less costly to cool servers.<\/p>\n<p>Others have proposed rainwater collection systems to help reduce reliance on municipal supplies.<\/p>\n<h3>Locals push back against data centres built near homes<\/h3>\n<p>The surge in data centres has not gone unnoticed by local residents, many of whom have pushed back against new developments near their homes &mdash; but with little success.<\/p>\n<p>According to KUT, locals are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact these facilities may have.<\/p>\n<p>One Hays County resident likened the situation to a gold rush that will only benefit a select few.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a rush to the market because a few people are gonna make billions,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_639246\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"33\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-639246\" class=\"size-full wp-image-639246 lazyload\" alt width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-639246\" class=\"size-full wp-image-639246\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt.jpg\" alt width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/chatgpt-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"><\/noscript>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-639246\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In an effort to rally support, she even went door-to-door to encourage her neighbours to attend a workshop hosted by the developers of the new data centre in her area.<\/p>\n<p>While the community turned out in support, county officials said their hands were tied.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You all spoke so passionately, and you burned valuable time of your life, on a beautiful day out here,&rdquo; one official told residents. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s gonna happen anyway.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A range of factors work in the data centre&rsquo;s favour.<\/p>\n<p>For one, the facility is located outside city limits, meaning it&rsquo;s not subject to city regulations. County governments have significantly less authority when it comes to enforcing restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>To make matters more complicated, the property spans two counties. Hays County officials only have jurisdiction over permits for half the development.<\/p>\n<p>Disheartened by the outcome, some locals have taken to photographing the area, hoping to preserve the natural environment through images before it changes for good.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more: Youth radicalisation a &lsquo;growing concern&rsquo; in S&rsquo;pore, AI &amp; the internet used as tools for terrorism: MHA<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"MLtzkHiqDe\" readability=\"0\">\n<p>Youth radicalisation a &lsquo;growing concern&rsquo; in S&rsquo;pore, AI &amp; the internet used as tools for terrorism: MHA<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Featured image adapted from KVUE on YouTube and Sanket Mishra on Canva, for illustration purposes only.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><sub>US residents told to cut water use while AI data centres guzzle millions amid drought<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas residents told to reduce water use as AI data centres guzzle millions of gallons As Texas struggles with a drought, more artificial intelligence (AI) data centres are popping up across the state, consuming massive amounts of water to cool their servers &mdash; even as residents face restrictions on their own water use. To make&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/us-residents-told-to-cut-water-use-while-ai-data-centres-guzzle-millions-amid-drought\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;US residents told to cut water use while AI data centres guzzle millions amid drought&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}