America’s rapidly expanding data-center industry has a water footprint that extends far beyond the buildings filled with servers. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated that U.S. data centers directly consumed approximately 66 billion liters — roughly 17 billion gallons — of water in 2023. Much of this direct consumption is associated with systems used to remove heat generated by computing equipment.
The facilities also have a much larger indirect water footprint. Berkeley Lab estimated that electricity generation associated with U.S. data-center demand consumed nearly 800 billion liters, or about 211 billion gallons, in 2023. The amount varies depending on the electricity-generation mix because different power technologies have very different water requirements.
Demand could continue rising as artificial intelligence and other computing workloads drive construction of larger facilities. Berkeley Lab’s 2024 analysis projected U.S. data-center electricity consumption could reach 325–580 TWh by 2028, compared with 176 TWh in 2023. Its water scenarios also projected substantially higher direct consumption, although the eventual amount will depend on factors including cooling technology and industry growth.
Location matters as much as the national totals. An analysis cited by the Lincoln Institute reported that roughly two-thirds of data centers built since 2022 were located in water-stressed regions. Researchers and industry specialists point to options including more water-efficient cooling, better siting, lower-water electricity sources and improved reporting, while noting that cooling choices can involve trade-offs between water and electricity use.
