Imperial County data center to need 750k gallons water
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- Sebastian Rucci announced a proposed 950,000‑square‑foot, two‑story data center in Imperial County, costing about $10 billion and delivering 330 MW of power, expected to be completed by 2028.
- The facility would require roughly 750,000 gallons of water per day for cooling, a figure the developer says will not raise electricity or water costs for the region.
- Imperial County officials have filed a lawsuit demanding higher environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and the local water district is still reviewing the project’s water impact.
- US Water Alliance poll shows 54 % of respondents are extremely or very concerned about data‑center impacts on water quality, supply, and cost, while two‑thirds want a state plan for water effects.
- Shaolei Ren notes that over 90 % of U.S. data centers draw cooling water from municipal supplies, and a 100‑MW facility can use about 1 million gallons daily—equivalent to 10,000 households.
- California lacks a central permitting authority for data centers, leaving oversight to city and county governments, and water‑infrastructure upgrades to meet projected data‑center demand could cost $200 million‑$800 million.
- Data Center Coalition reports that data centers nationwide use about 39 billion gallons of water annually, and California’s planned 24 new centers by 2030 could add 697‑1,451 million gallons per day of new water capacity needs.
Why it matters: Local residents risk higher water bills and strained supply as the $10 billion Imperial County data center threatens to draw 750,000 gallons daily, while the state’s fragmented permitting and lack of water‑use reporting leave communities without safeguards against rising utility costs.
