Data Centers Spark Water Worries in Arizona

As Arizona faces a 30-year drought, locals are fighting against the construction of large data centers in the state. The $3. 6 billion Project Blue, located on the southeast edge of Tucson, and a $5 billion project in the town of Marana, have raised concerns about water consumption and power usage. Residents, including Marisol Winfrey Herrera, are opposing the projects, citing the potential strain on the city's water supply and the impact on the environment.

The data centers are expected to consume significant amounts of water and power, which could exacerbate the drought and heat issues in the region. According to Lisa Shipek, co-executive director of the Watershed Management Group, 'water was a unifying theme in our campaign' against the data centers. The projects have also sparked debates about the trade-offs between economic benefits and environmental concerns. While the data centers are expected to create jobs and generate tax revenue, critics argue that the costs to the environment and local communities outweigh the benefits.

As the drought continues to worsen, the issue of water usage by data centers has become a major concern in Arizona. The state's largest data center project, La Osa, has been scaled down from 59 data centers to 11, following opposition from residents. The controversy surrounding data centers in Arizona highlights the need for sustainable and responsible development in the tech industry. As Vivek Bharathan, a spokesperson for the No Desert Data Center, noted, 'the viability of data centers in Arizona will always be subject to climate change and heat risks.

Source: Al Jazeera