Will Data Centers Squeeze Drought-Stressed Communities Dry?

Robert Johnson

Microsoft, Google, and Amazon’s data centers are receiving priority access to freshwater in drought-stressed areas globally, amplifying local communities' water scarcity. Yet, these tech giants plan to continue expanding their infrastructure within these regions. Moreover, residents are often forced to take action through grassroots activism, as their local governments often welcome these companies as neighbors without regard to those living in these areas. Still, data centers form the backbone of the internet, storing, processing, and dispersing the data of every website and app. Their importance is undeniable, particularly in light of the current data demands of artificial intelligence (AI). However, water-intensive data centers continue to arrive in regions, like Chile and the Middle East, that are at risk of drought, and local governments are allowing it.

So why are water-scarce communities a favorable choice for thirsty data centers? Low-humidity locations can prevent metal corrosion, which can shorten the lifespan of a center’s cooling system and lead to other maintenance issues. Simply put, the cost of downtime for repairs outweighs the cost of water for tech giants. Furthermore, data centers cluster around specific sections of arid regions, as many have governments that support local AI development and provide cheap energy, which cuts costs for tech companies. 

And why are data centers so thirsty? Cooling systems are necessary to prevent their computer servers from overheating, as they are constantly in use. One of the most common systems is evaporative cooling, which involves guiding the hot air into a cooler that evaporates water. The process outputs cold air, which is then redirected back into the data center. While the other most common method, air cooling, consumes significantly less water than evaporative cooling, it still indirectly depletes millions of gallons of freshwater annually. Furthermore, air cooling cannot keep up with the intense demands of artificial intelligence and is likely to decrease in popularity as data centers continue to develop. Thankfully, an emerging process could help mitigate the exacerbation of water scarcity that data centers present. Microsoft recently launched a cooling system that consumes zero water after construction, recycling water in a closed loop. It has high potential for developing data centers in drought-stressed regions; however, this technology isn’t widely used due to its high upfront cost and the little legislation enforcing environmentally conscious design. 

Mosacat, a grassroots organization, finally stood up to big tech after learning about a 200-million-dollar proposal for a new data center in Santiago, Chile. Chile has been facing an ongoing megadrought since 2010, which has been exacerbated by climate change. In 2015, Google opened its first data center in Santiago. This center was authorized to extract one billion liters of water every year. With Google and other smaller companies receiving primary access to freshwater resources, many farmers didn’t have enough water to grow crops anymore and were forced to purchase food to support themselves. Santiago locals’ bathrooms were inoperable as they didn't have enough water to run properly. Then, in 2019, Google announced plans to develop another data center in Cerrillos, Santiago that was authorized to extract over 7 billion liters per year, or228 liters per second. With such an egregious exacerbation of water scarcity, this project was the final straw for locals. Mosacat staged a series of protests against the construction of this center. Their efforts caught the attention of a Chilean environmental court, which forced Google to revise its project, this time accounting for the environmental impacts and water concerns of the area it would occupy. Google announced that it would revise its plans to abide by environmental regulations.

Tania Rodríguez, an environmental activist who helped found Mosacat, points out why tech giants come to Chile: “Chile is attractive because our laws are lax. We have almost no legislation. Plus, there is no political responsibility.” Many Mosacat activists, including Tania Rodriguez, find that the Chilean government is prioritizing data center construction over the community they serve, as they don’t want to fall behind in the AI race. And while the president has responded to community pushback against recent data center developments, moving construction to the less populated North, there still seems to be a disconnect between the interests of the government and the population it serves. Many environmentalists voice concern over the impact that data centers may have on the Atacama Desert. Yet, their government has no intention of halting their multi-billion-dollar national data center plan to position Chile as a global leader in digital infrastructure. 

Several human rights organizations argue that Israeli authorities restrict Palestinian access to water while prioritizing infrastructure like data centers. The Israeli military possesses complete control over all water resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank and Gaza. Ozan Agbas, an emergency operations manager, finds that “as with food, supplies, and health care, the Israeli military is restricting access to water to minimal levels. By refraining from cutting off water entirely, they allow plausible deniability while choking Palestinians of their means of survival.” But Israel’s real intentions are made ever more obvious by their allocation of water resources. Tel Aviv has become a hub for data centers, and Israel only plans to expand on its technology infrastructure. One report states that Israel currently houses 32 data centers and plans to develop 26 more, which will nearly double the number of their server rooms. But the same water being used to support their cooling systems is being stripped away from Gaza and West Bank, causing a water crisis in Palestine. Israel's upcoming projects will only exacerbate the dire situation many Palestinians are facing. 

Like in Cerrillos, mega corporations are promising to reduce their environmental footprint. Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon have all pledged to at least replenish all the water they consume by 2030. These tech giants are promoting water stewardship through developing and funding watershed restoration projects and implementing advanced cooling systems. In 2023, the organizations funded by Meta replenished 1.5 billion gallons of water to regions facing drought, coming close to their end goal of restoring 1.9 billion gallons annually. Google returned 64% of the freshwater consumed by their data centers in 2024, totaling 4.5 billion gallons. 

Residents of drought-stressed communities are increasingly being forced to welcome water-guzzling data centers as neighbors. These server rooms are developed in arid regions to prevent metal corrosion from occurring, as it leads to maintenance issues and forced down-time. And tech giants are clustering their data centers within communities with the cheapest energy providers to cut costs. What makes these buildings so thirsty is their cooling systems, which oftentimes evaporate large quantities of water to dissipate heat. One group, Mosacat, is working with these tech giants to protect their communities' water resources. Their efforts successfully halted progress on a Google data center planned to be developed in Carrillos, Santiago, until Google finds a more sustainable cooling system. However, it still seems as though Chilean officials care more about developing their country into a digital infrastructure epicenter than about protecting their population. And in the Middle East, Israeli officials are deliberately withholding water resources from Palestine, leading to many Palestinians dying of thirst. And Israel continues developing water-guzzling data centers as another display of their dominance over Palestinian water resources. Nevertheless, influential companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta, have all pledged to replenish all the water they consume by 2030 and have made considerable progress towards this objective. Yet, government officials still seem to struggle with prioritizing the communities they serve. Unless governments prioritize communities over corporate interests, technological progress will continue to come at the expense of human survival.

(This article was originally printed in the Fall 2025 edition of our print magazine. To see the entire magazine, click here.)