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UC Law Environmental Journal

Abstract

As society’s demand for more network storage and advanced generative artificial intelligence systems increases, industries are rushing to deploy more data centers. This rapid growth of data centers has led to increased concern regarding the burden that data centers place on energy and water resources. Potable water intake and energy consumption are two well-established issues related to data centers, given that both water and electricity are necessary to run and cool equipment within data centers. As a result, data centers are developing and implementing new cooling systems that recycle water within their systems, limit evaporation, or do not rely on water so more water may be returned to natural water systems. While eliminating the need for water in cooling systems may be ideal, current waterless cooling systems have not been adapted for all climate systems and pose water-energy usage tradeoffs. Therefore, many data centers still rely on potable water to cool their equipment and discharge cooling water to groundwater, surface water, or municipal wastewater systems. Although returning data center cooling water back into the environment or reusing it as reclaimed water has its advantages, the uncertainties surrounding the potential environmental impacts of discharging cooling water and data gaps created by the lack of transparency in cooling water discharge practices raises some concerns.

This Article examines the potential environmental impacts of data center cooling water discharge practices and the evolving regulatory landscape governing data centers. Given that most data center cooling water discharge practices remain confidential, it is difficult to ascertain whether these practices impact the environment and, if so, the extent of such impact. This Article argues there is a clear lack of transparency in data center cooling water discharge practices despite the release of voluntary corporate disclosure reports. Additionally, this Article argues that although federal and state statutes may attempt to regulate data center practices, the rate of data center expansion and gaps in information likely make it difficult to create effective policies aimed at protecting the environment and human health.

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