Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has turned her attention to the rapid expansion of AI data centers across the United States. Through her AI Data Center Reporting Map, residents can submit information about facilities operating, under construction or proposed near their communities. During a June 2026 PBS interview, Brockovich said the project had already received more than 10,000 submissions.
Water has emerged as one of the biggest concerns. An earlier snapshot of Brockovich’s crowdsourced reports found 41.2% identified water supply as a concern, followed by the electricity grid at 22.2% and health at 18.1%. These figures describe what people submitting reports were worried about; they are not measurements showing that those effects occurred at the same rates.
The potential resource demands can nevertheless be substantial. PBS cited the Environmental and Energy Study Institute in reporting that a large U.S. data center can use about 5 million gallons of water on an average day, largely because cooling powerful computing equipment can require significant amounts of water. Brockovich has also highlighted complaints about noise, electricity demand and communities feeling excluded from decisions about new projects.
Brockovich’s stated focus is greater transparency and community participation rather than simply rejecting AI technology. She argues that residents should know what is being proposed, understand potential demands on local resources and have an opportunity to participate before major projects are approved. Her crowdsourced map is intended to make those local experiences visible as America’s data-center buildout accelerates.
