. According to analysis by the Guardian, two-thirds of planned datacentres in the US are in drought-stricken areas. The larger centres need up to 5m gallons of water a day for cooling, equivalent to the average usage of 50,000 people. It is unclear what the plan is and whose needs will take priority between AI, agriculture and everyone else.
“People are reporting bill spikes,” [Erin]Brockovich says, reading an email from someone who says their monthly water bill went from $22 (£17) to more than $350 (£265). The threat of these centres is about more than money – it feels existential. “How will the water use disrupt the balance of nature? People are asking: “What will happen to us?”
Ibam not saying this is wromg but I have also heard a lot of the water use is in generators they basically run all the time for smoother power. And I could definitely see these companies “segmenting off” the power generation to make these numbers look better to the already angry public.
Like mayne the center and servers itself uses little, but the power generation may not.
Mostly, I really want more raw info on this that I keep seeing pushed.