Data centers have existed since the Internet, but new ones are now being built in response to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Writing this article was a challenge since limited knowledge exists and there is a lack of transparency and regulations surrounding the new data centers.
Discussions and news reports focus on the significant use of electricity for AI data centers. However, less frequently mentioned is the need for cooling the data centers with water. There are a variety of cooling methods, including the use of potable water, evaporative cooling, and recycled water. The requirement for water can cause water shortages in surrounding areas and may put a strain on the drainage/sewer system. This presents a problem in drought areas.
According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a large AI data center uses 5 million gallons of water each day, which is equivalent to the water use of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 residents. When a city learns of an intention to build an AI data center, residents voice concerns at City Council meetings about electricity and water use.
Recent efforts are constructing data centers on government land rather than municipalities. The Carlyle Group has just been approved by the Trump Administration and the Pentagon to build a 3-gigawatt data center on 1,384 acres in Fort Bliss, Texas. It is predicted to be operational in 2027. It will use more electricity and water than the entire city of El Paso, Texas.
As of the beginning of 2026, there were between 3,900 and 5,400 data centers in the United States. There are over 300 data centers in CA and there are between 57 and 106 data centers in Los Angeles. In LA County, there are 3 hubs in downtown LA, El Segundo and Burbank. El Segundo has 3 data centers.
Our individual use of AI has an impact on the water required to cool the data centers. Each time a person submits a prompt to AI, water is used that is the same size of a bottle of water. Once a prompt is submitted, AI initiates additional queries within the system to develop the text it produces. Each of those queries also require the equivalent of 1 bottle of water to cool the technology. Millions of prompts are submitted each hour.
Clearly, data centers are a serious issue for water conservation.
However, there are some savvy people working on a project that eliminates the need for electricity from the grid and potable water.
Enter Panthalassa, a corporation registered in Delaware and operating initially in Washington and now Oregon. Panthalassa strives to respond to the increasing energy demand in a unique way – providing an energy platform that is “faster to deploy, designed to scale, is ultra low-cost, and emits zero emissions.” It’s approximately 2 stories high and simply floats in the ocean.
Their website provides information, photos, and videos on the construction and implementation of this energy platform which uses wave power (not electricity) and the ocean water (not potable water) to cool the system: https://panthalassa.com. The videos fully explain the design and operation.
Panthalassa founders and employees believe that they can use ocean power to replace land-based data centers and, according to their website, eventually replace worldwide fossil fuel power generation.
Clearly, data centers are causing environmental and power challenges. Let’s hope that new technologies will be created to reduce the impact of data centers on the grid and local water supplies. Until then, perhaps each of us can consider reducing the number of prompts we submit to AI – to encourage water conservation.
Diane Wallace is a member of the Angeles Chapter Water Committee.