Start by demanding site-specific numbers and identifying who has authority to act. A data center’s water use can range from below a regulatory threshold to millions of gallons a day, depending on its cooling design, climate, operating schedule and expansion phases. A national average cannot show what one facility will do to your watershed or utility.
Residents, local officials and community groups can still influence the outcome. Before approval or expansion, obtain projected annual and peak-day use, the water source, consumptive use, drought plans and infrastructure needs. Then match each issue to the agency, utility or local board that can impose an enforceable condition. If the facility is already operating, seek actual-use records, compare them with approved projections and press for transparent drought and infrastructure rules.
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What “water use” means for a data center
Begin with the distinction between withdrawal and consumptive use. Withdrawal is water taken from a river, aquifer or utility system. Consumptive use is the portion not promptly returned to the same source, such as water lost through evaporation in cooling towers. A facility buying treated water from a city may not need its own direct-withdrawal permit, yet its consumption can still affect the utility’s sources, treatment capacity and drought response.
Cooling technology drives the difference. Evaporative systems can consume substantial water on hot days. Closed-loop, air-cooled and reclaimed-water systems may reduce potable-water demand, but they involve trade-offs in energy, capital cost, wastewater availability, reliability and site conditions. The University of California, Berkeley Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) warns that water-efficient cooling can require more energy. Ask for a comparison using local conditions rather than accepting a claim that one design is universally best.
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The questions to answer before approval or expansion
How much water will the facility use?
Request figures for both normal and stressed conditions:
- Expected annual consumption and withdrawal.
- Average daily use and maximum-day demand during the hottest operating conditions.
- Seasonal variation and the assumptions behind the estimate.
- Separate numbers for every construction phase and the fully built campus.
- Expected water returned to the system, its quality and the timing of any return.
Peak-day demand matters because a treatment plant, pipeline or reservoir can fail its design limit even when annual totals look modest. New Jersey’s reporting framework calls for peak daily use and water sources. Pennsylvania’s framework calls for previous-year consumption and maximum-day demand. Use those fields as a practical checklist even where your state has not adopted the same forms.
Where will the water come from?
Require the applicant and utility to identify each source: municipal treated water, a private or public surface-water withdrawal, groundwater, reclaimed wastewater or a combination. Ask whether the source changes by season or during drought. A utility connection does not make the project’s demand irrelevant; it shifts some decisions to the utility’s supply, rate and capital-planning processes.
What will happen during drought or an outage?
Ask for a written drought plan that states when conservation measures begin, how much the facility must reduce use, which operations can be curtailed and how essential household, public-health and firefighting needs are protected. Require an explanation of backup water, storage and emergency-power assumptions. A plan that says only “the facility will comply with restrictions” is not a measurable commitment.
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What infrastructure will be needed, and who pays?
Ask the utility to compare existing capacity with the project’s peak demand and cumulative demand from other proposed facilities. Request a list of possible upgrades—wells, intakes, treatment, storage, pumps, transmission mains, wastewater treatment or new sources—their schedule and their cost allocation. Determine whether the developer pays directly, through connection charges, through negotiated agreements or through rates shared with other customers.
Map the approval path and the people who can impose conditions
Authority differs by state, utility, watershed and source. Make a written map before a hearing:
- Local land use: identify zoning, site-plan, annexation, subdivision and building approvals. Find the planning commission, zoning board and elected body with final authority.
- Utility decisions: determine who approves service, capacity reservations, connection terms and rates. Ask whether the utility board holds meetings and publishes engineering studies.
- State water approvals: check withdrawal, appropriation, well, discharge and stormwater permits. Learn the thresholds and public-notice rules.
- Basin or regional review: some watersheds impose separate consumptive-use or water-quality approvals.
- Environmental review: ask whether state or local law requires an environmental assessment, cumulative-impact analysis or alternatives review.
- Deadlines: obtain the application, technical appendices, hearing dates and comment deadline from each agency.
In Iowa, the Department of Natural Resources handles qualifying water-withdrawal permits while local governments control zoning and land use. Iowa’s DNR describes a permit threshold of 25,000 gallons in a 24-hour period and a public notice and comment period for draft permits. The exact threshold and process do not apply nationally.
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How to build a credible public record
Request the documents that show real demand
Use state and local public-records laws to seek the water-service application, engineering studies, permit drafts, drought plans, correspondence about capacity and any proposed utility agreement. Ask for machine-readable monthly or daily use data where available. Berkeley CLEE recommends publishing more granular, site-specific information instead of relying on corporate sustainability averages.
When a utility says data are unavailable, ask whether the facility is reported as an aggregated customer, whether confidentiality rules apply and what nonconfidential totals can be released. Iowa notes that municipal systems may not report individual customer use to the state, so a resident may need to request the facility’s information directly from the utility.
Compare demand with the system’s headroom
Place the applicant’s annual and peak-day figures beside current average and maximum system use, legally available supply, storage, treatment capacity, drought triggers, committed growth and other large projects. Ask the utility to model a dry-year scenario and simultaneous peak demand. A project can fit an average-year spreadsheet yet require a costly expansion or worsen shortages during a drought.
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Local governments can ask state agencies, regional planning bodies or university-based technical-assistance programs to review the applicant’s assumptions. New Jersey announced agency technical support for municipalities; Pennsylvania directed agencies to develop permitting and municipal resources. Independent review is especially useful when a developer’s estimate covers only the first phase or reports water withdrawals without consumptive losses.
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Participate early, with specific requests
Attend pre-application meetings, planning hearings, utility-board sessions and permit hearings. Submit written comments before the deadline and keep copies. Effective comments identify a concrete gap or condition:
- “The application gives annual use but not maximum-day demand; require a peak-day estimate for each phase.”
- “The source is listed as municipal water; disclose the underlying river, reservoir or aquifer and the drought restrictions that would apply.”
- “The model excludes other committed projects; require a cumulative-capacity analysis.”
- “The cooling proposal does not compare reclaimed, closed-loop and air-cooled options; require a local water-energy and reliability comparison.”
Ask each decision-maker what authority it has and what it cannot require. Pennsylvania’s 2026 framework says required local approvals must precede permits and that project nondisclosure agreements are not permissible under its approach. The Susquehanna Commission describes public hearings for certain consumptive-use applications. These are jurisdiction-specific examples, not nationwide rules.
Seek conditions that can actually be enforced
Where law allows, request that permits, utility contracts or local approvals include measurable terms rather than voluntary promises:
- Quarterly or semiannual public reporting of withdrawals, consumption, maximum-day use and source.
- A defined water-efficiency target, baseline, measurement method and deadline.
- Use of reclaimed water for cooling when technically, legally and environmentally feasible.
- A drought response with trigger levels, reduction percentages, sequencing and protections for essential users.
- Developer payment for project-driven supply, treatment, storage and distribution upgrades.
- Independent monitoring, periodic review, corrective-action deadlines and consequences for missed commitments.
Maryland’s Executive Order 01.01.2026.16 directs permit review to examine water availability, closed-loop, air-cooled and reclaimed-water alternatives, and ongoing public disclosure to the extent permitted by law. California’s governor said on September 21, 2026, that seven signed bills require proposed data centers to give local governments and water suppliers information on water use, supply, efficiency and drought planning, with needed supply upgrades paid for by the data center. The enforceability of any term still depends on the final law, permit and agreement in your jurisdiction.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use community-benefit agreements without treating them as permits
A community-benefit agreement (CBA) can address infrastructure and local priorities, but it should supplement—not replace—water permits, environmental review and public participation. Put every promise in writing with:
- A named responsible party.
- A dollar amount or measurable performance standard.
- Payment or completion dates.
- Public reporting and audit rights.
- An enforcement mechanism, remedy and process for disputes.
Potential subjects include water-system upgrades, drought-resilience projects, monitoring equipment, workforce development, schools or other locally selected investments. New Jersey guidance addresses infrastructure impacts and community investments. Pennsylvania’s framework calls for meaningful CBAs and water conservation. A contribution with no schedule, reporting or remedy is difficult for the community to verify.
Compare cooling and supply options honestly
| Option | Potential water benefit | Questions to test locally |
|---|---|---|
| Evaporative cooling | May provide efficient heat removal but can consume significant water, especially on hot days. | What are annual and maximum-day losses, blowdown volumes and drought reductions? |
| Closed-loop cooling | Can reduce ongoing make-up water after initial fill. | What are energy use, maintenance, redundancy and emergency-water requirements? |
| Air-cooled systems | May sharply reduce direct water consumption. | How do higher electricity demand, noise, heat and extreme temperatures affect the site? |
| Reclaimed water | Can replace potable water for suitable cooling uses. | Is treated wastewater available year-round, and who funds the separate pipeline and treatment? |
Request comparable assumptions for electricity, water, wastewater, reliability and cost. Berkeley CLEE identifies a water-energy trade-off, while Maryland’s order calls for evaluating closed-loop, air-cooled and reclaimed-water alternatives. The right choice depends on the watershed and utility, not on a slogan about “waterless” or “green” cooling.
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If the data center is already operating
- Obtain approved limits: ask the utility and regulators for permits, service agreements, withdrawal limits, reporting requirements and drought orders.
- Request actual use: seek monthly totals, maximum-day demand, source changes and any exceedances. Compare them with the original projection and each expansion phase.
- Track public indicators: monitor reservoir or aquifer levels, drought declarations, boil-water notices, rate filings and planned capital projects.
- Ask about enforcement: find out who investigates missed reports, exceeds limits or fails to follow drought restrictions, and how residents can file a complaint.
- Prepare for expansion: insist that a new phase receive a fresh cumulative-capacity and drought analysis rather than relying on the first approval.
Keep a dated file of requests, responses, meeting minutes and data. If an agency denies records, ask for the legal basis and any segregable nonconfidential portion. If actual use exceeds projections, present the comparison at the next utility, planning or regulatory meeting and request a corrective schedule.
What recent state actions show—and what they do not prove
| Jurisdiction and date | Action described by officials | Practical lesson |
|---|---|---|
| California, September 21, 2026 | Seven signed bills require proposed data centers to provide local governments and water suppliers information on use, supply, efficiency and drought planning; officials said needed supply upgrades would be paid for by the data center. | Ask for the same categories and a documented cost-allocation plan; verify the enacted text and applicability. |
| New Jersey, August 27, 2026 | S3379/A4096 requires semiannual reports to the Board of Public Utilities, including peak daily use and sources. The state also announced CBA guidance and municipal technical assistance. | Use peak-day and source reporting as a model for local requests. |
| Pennsylvania, 2026 framework | Local approvals must precede permits; the framework calls for water-conservation commitments, public engagement, prior-year use and maximum-day reporting, and says project NDAs are not permissible under its approach. | Coordinate land-use and water review and challenge secrecy that blocks public oversight. |
| Maryland, Executive Order 01.01.2026.16 | Permit review is directed to assess supply, cooling alternatives and ongoing disclosure where law permits. | Request an alternatives analysis and continuing—not one-time—reporting. |
| Susquehanna River Basin, 2026 | Commission rules describe a 20,000-gallon-per-day, 30-day-average consumptive-use threshold for covered sources and public-hearing procedures. | Check basin-specific triggers even when water is purchased from a public system. |
| Iowa, 2026 guidance | DNR describes a 25,000-gallon-in-24-hours withdrawal threshold, draft-permit comments and a state/local split between withdrawal permits and zoning. | Map both state permits and local land-use decisions; do not assume one approval controls the other. |
These examples illustrate possible tools, not a national legal standard. Confirm the current statute, order, permit threshold and agency practice before relying on any of them.
A one-page community checklist
- Identify every proposed phase, owner, utility customer and water source.
- Obtain annual, average-day, maximum-day and drought-condition demand.
- Separate withdrawal, consumption, return flows and wastewater needs.
- Compare demand with dry-year supply, storage, treatment and committed growth.
- Map zoning, utility, state, basin, discharge and environmental approvals.
- Calendar records requests, hearings and comment deadlines.
- Request cooling and source alternatives with water, energy and reliability assumptions.
- Seek public reporting, drought triggers, upgrade funding and independent review in enforceable documents.
- Write any CBA with dates, metrics, reporting and remedies.
- For operating sites, compare actual use with approved projections and document every exceedance.
As Berkeley CLEE’s report puts it, “Local communities bear many of the impacts of data center development. Local governments also determine whether and under what conditions a data center can be built.” The practical implication is direct: water concerns have the most leverage when residents connect accurate site data to the specific decision-maker who can impose a condition before construction or expansion is approved.
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