Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan was featured in a recent Straight Arrow News article about data centers’ water and energy consumption, and how they impact local communities.
In the article, Professor Scanlan contextualized the growth of the data center industry, which, according to the Lawrence Berkley Lab, consumed 228 billion gallons of water in 2023.
“That’s about the amount of water that would be needed for more than 7.6 million Americans,” Scanlan said, which is about the population of Arizona.
When key consumption data isn’t disclosed, she said that it can create a power and information imbalance that makes it difficult for communities to make informed decisions.
“That just leads to greater distrust,” Scanlan said, with a result of “more people opposing an industry that could be actually potentially very positive.”
Read the full story here: A data center is moving into a small town. Residents say it will ruin their history
Check out more of the Center’s work on data centers and water policy on our publications and news pages!