New Research Puts Data Center Water Demands in Perspective

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White paper examines the water, power, and fiscal questions communities should consider before data centers arrive BEAUMONT, Calif., Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Water may not be…

White paper examines the water, power, and fiscal questions communities should consider before data centers arrive

BEAUMONT, Calif., Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Water may not be the defining local infrastructure challenge posed by data centers, according to new research from San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency (SGPWA). While these facilities can require substantial water, their electricity demands are far greater, and their impact on a community ultimately depends on a broader equation that includes infrastructure costs, tax revenue and who pays for what.

"Water suppliers cannot afford to plan only for the demands we already know," said SGPWA General Manager Lance Eckhart. "Data centers are changing infrastructure conversations across the country. We wanted to understand what they could require from our water supply, while also looking at the bigger picture, before those questions become immediate here."

That broader perspective is why SGPWA, the State Water Contractor responsible for securing supplies and anticipating long-term water needs in California's San Gorgonio Pass, asked intern and UC Berkeley student Jagger Mattox to examine the impact of the data center industry. His white paper explores the water, electricity and fiscal impacts of a hypothetical large-scale data center, with findings that challenge some common assumptions.

Using industry data, Mattox estimated that a hypothetical data center with a 100-megawatt IT load would directly consume approximately 419 acre-feet of water annually, roughly 5 percent of the City of Banning's annual water use. Banning was used solely as a local comparison because comparable data was readily available, not because of any current or potential project. The estimate does not include indirect water associated with electricity generation or chip manufacturing.

Electricity emerged as a potentially greater local infrastructure challenge. The same facility would consume nearly six times as much electricity as the entire City of…

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