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hatrack

(63,370 posts)
16. Central TX Residents; Conserve! Take Shorter Showers! AI Water Use Now 49 Billion Gallons/Yr, Will Rise 10X By 2030
Sat Aug 2, 2025, 10:14 AM
Aug 2

Last edited Sat Aug 2, 2025, 10:48 AM - Edit history (1)

EDIT

Microsoft’s Stargate campus in Abilene is leading a surge in data center construction, promising to become one of the world’s largest hubs supporting advanced artificial intelligence technology, as per a report by Techie + Gamers. But behind this high-tech promise lies a growing environmental concern: water consumption. According to a July 2025 investigation by The Austin Chronicle, data centers across Central Texas, including Microsoft and US Army Corps facilities in San Antonio, used a combined 463 million gallons of water in 2023 and 2024 alone, as reported by Techie + Gamers. That’s enough water to meet the needs of tens of thousands of households, according to the report.

For many Texans, this feels like a painful contradiction. While drought warnings urge residents to limit water use, especially for everyday activities like showering, giant facilities essential to the tech economy are quietly drawing vast amounts of water, mostly for cooling servers that keep the data centers running 24/7, as per the Techie + Gamers report. Robert Mace, executive director of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University highlighted that, “People don’t think of data centers as industrial water users, but they are,” adding that, “Once that water evaporates, it’s just gone,” as quoted in the report.

The scale of water use is massive, as the Texas Water Development Board projections estimate that data centers in the state will consume 49 billion gallons of water in 2025, soaring to nearly 400 billion gallons by 2030, as per Techie + Gamers report. That’s about 7% of Texas’s total projected water use, according to the report. Margaret Cook, a water policy analyst at the Houston Advanced Research Center pointed out that, “These centers are showing up in places that are very water-stressed," adding, "There’s no requirement for them to have conversations with communities about how much water they’ll use,” as quoted in the report.

Locals in the Hill Country region, where several new AI-focused centers are under construction, are raising alarms. Much of the water these centers use evaporates during cooling and can’t be recycled, a critical issue in an area already grappling with scarce water resources, as reported by Techie + Gamers.

EDIT

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/texas-ai-centers-guzzle-463-million-gallons-now-residents-are-asked-to-cut-back-on-showers/ar-AA1Jx2zN

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It's a bit of a smoke screen Lithos Aug 1 #1
Spot on. Mistakes will be made. But will they be cachukis Aug 1 #4
Agreed. Reports of computer science majors having the highest unemployment rate have been circulating for several year Iris Aug 3 #27
And the tariffs tax won't do anything except make things worse off for more people on top of it. cstanleytech Aug 1 #2
I keep wondering what jobs are being done by AI that were previously done by people. enough Aug 1 #3
None? There are people using AI, not the chat GPT type, to.... reACTIONary Aug 1 #8
Data and document heavy jobs IronLionZion Aug 2 #11
This message was self-deleted by its author Bayard Aug 2 #17
I would include, War Bayard Aug 2 #18
Losers worry about morals or empathy IronLionZion Aug 2 #23
To me, AI is the new Crypto. The Madcap Aug 1 #5
...And yet this country STILL fucking refuses to regulate it. Karasu Aug 1 #6
AI is moving into law firms AverageOldGuy Aug 1 #7
Exactly as planned. eppur_se_muova Aug 1 #9
It's very often not a "one time investment" jmowreader Aug 1 #10
True, I was just trying to keep it short and to the point. eppur_se_muova Aug 2 #13
Think we have bigger concerns about AI angrychair Aug 2 #12
Central TX Residents; Conserve! Take Shorter Showers! AI Water Use Now 49 Billion Gallons/Yr, Will Rise 10X By 2030 hatrack Aug 2 #16
I read that ICE is recruiting riversedge Aug 2 #14
In other words, it's doing what it was invented to do. Quelle surprise. jmowreader Aug 2 #15
We are planning to just let people starve, suffer and die. Oneironaut Aug 2 #19
Futurist Adam Dorr on how robots will take our jobs: WestMichRad Aug 2 #20
duh. travelingthrulife Aug 2 #21
Companies that are crashing for other reasons are using AI to cover the mess. hunter Aug 2 #22
Because they don't care. The Madcap Aug 3 #25
Computer Science, Analytics, etc. Xolodno Aug 2 #24
AI is the devil. Scrivener7 Aug 3 #26
It is a critical time when we need a real understanding of what's going on in the economy. Jim__ Aug 3 #28
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