The next wave of U.S. AI data centers is going up on drought land.
A study tracking 809 planned data center projects across the country found that roughly two-thirds are sited in areas that experienced drought over the past year. The findings cover the full pipeline of planned construction, not just projects already underway. Both water availability and power supply are identified as concerns raised by the geographic pattern.
Data centers consume significant volumes of water, primarily to cool the servers inside. Concentrating new AI infrastructure in drought regions puts tech companies in direct competition with agriculture, municipalities, and other water-dependent industries for a resource already under pressure. Power supply, strained by the broader AI buildout, compounds the problem in the same locations.
The industry has invested in water-efficient cooling technology for years; the siting data raises a more basic question about whether those investments follow the buildings.