人工智慧热潮推动了数十年来最大规模的基础设施建设，科技公司投入数十亿美元兴建为AI提供算力的资料中心。这些设施对水资源产生了巨大需求：资料中心需要用水来冷却伺服器，同时其耗电所需的发电过程也间接消耗大量水资源，而间接用水量通常远高于直接用水量。据劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室估计，美国资料中心在2023年直接消耗约174亿加仑的水，到2028年可能增至每年740亿加仑；加州大学河滨分校的研究则预测，到2030年这一数字可能达到1100亿加仑，约占美国公共供水系统年消耗量的7%。

资料中心大量用水的主要原因在于伺服器散热需求。许多美国资料中心使用蒸发式冷却塔，透过水的蒸发将热量排出设施外。虽然也有干式冷却系统可减少用水，但其能耗更高且在高温环境下效果不佳。再生水虽可用于冷却，但基础设施不足、供应量有限且成本较高，加上其含盐量和矿物质较多，使用范围受限。由于近三分之二的新建资料中心位于已面临高度水资源压力的地区，这对当地社区的用水可靠性和价格造成了显著影响，尤其在干旱时期问题更为严峻。（关键数字：2022）

面对水资源挑战，各地社区和政府已开始采取行动。2024年1月至2026年5月间，美国至少有46个资料中心项目因社区反对而被推迟或取消，涉及总值约1700亿美元。犹他州已立法要求开发商披露预估用水量，纽约州宣布暂时禁止新建资料中心，南内华达州则禁止新建商业建筑使用蒸发式冷却。科技公司也在努力降低用水影响，如亚马逊承诺到2030年回馈更多水资源，辉达推出可在更高温度下运行的AI伺服器。然而研究人员指出，透明度仍然不足，水资源使用的报告应更加标准化、强制化和持续化。

The AI boom has triggered one of the largest infrastructure expansions in decades, with tech companies pouring billions into data center construction. These facilities consume vast amounts of water both directly for cooling servers and indirectly through electricity generation. US data centers directly consumed approximately 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023, and projections suggest this could rise to 74–110 billion gallons annually by 2028–2030. The indirect water footprint from power generation dwarfs direct consumption, adding another 211 billion gallons in 2023 alone. Despite these enormous figures, transparency remains limited, with some operators even pressuring municipalities into signing nondisclosure agreements about their water usage.

Data centers require substantial water primarily because servers generate intense heat that must be dissipated. Most US facilities rely on evaporative cooling towers during hot periods, which release heat by evaporating water into the air. Dry cooling alternatives exist but consume more energy and perform poorly in high temperatures. Recycled water use is constrained by inadequate infrastructure, limited supply, higher costs, and corrosive contaminants. The siting of data centers compounds the problem: roughly two-thirds of new facilities built or planned since 2022 are located in areas already experiencing high water stress, competing with agriculture and municipalities for increasingly scarce supplies, particularly in drought-prone western US regions dependent on sources like the Colorado River.

Communities and governments are increasingly pushing back against unchecked data center expansion. At least 46 US projects worth a collective $170 billion were delayed or canceled due to public opposition between January 2024 and May 2026. Legislative responses include Utah's disclosure requirements for projected water usage, New York's temporary construction ban, and Southern Nevada's prohibition on evaporative cooling in new commercial buildings. Tech companies have announced mitigation measures—Amazon's water replenishment pledge, Nvidia's higher-temperature cooling systems, and improved reporting from Microsoft, Google, and Meta—but researchers argue these efforts address only part of the problem. The indirect water consumption from growing electricity demand remains largely unaddressed, and experts call for standardized, mandatory, and continuous facility-level reporting to provide a complete picture of data centers' true water impact.