The cover photo comes from the work of Shaolei Ren at the University of California Riverside based on an NSF grant. "The Real Story on AI's Water Use" is published in IEEE Spectrum and clarifies some key facts of AI's water footprint to facilitate evidence-based public discussions. A longer version is published in OECD AI Policy Observatory.
In previous blogs (with the most recent blog here), I’ve mentioned water impacts by data centers as related to various discussions with officials and the community. Lately, we’ve been reaching out to existing environmental groups with more detailed discussions so I want to capture some of those exchanges and links. Outreach letters sent to several groups are posted on the 21 December 2025 blog update stating, “Recently, over 200 environmental groups signed a letter to Congress demanding a stop to data center development nationwide. Several national and statewide groups signed on including these groups from North Carolina.” Here are some of the follow-up discussions:
Kemp Burdette, Cape Fear Riverkeeper and Executive Director, Cape Fear River Watch, 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC 28401
(Sent on 22 January 2026) “Good morning Kemp:
Thanks for your response and request for more information. I'm a consulting hydrogeologist-geochemist and retired fed volunteering for our community group opposing the proposed hyperscale data center.
The proposed Apex-New Hill data center in Wake County proposes to need cooling water that originates as community water supply from Jordan Lake that is sent to the water treatment plant using reclaimed water. They would also need potable water supplies likely from the Town of Apex supply but we don't know the details. The town managers are considering annexation and rezoning to allow the possibility of a data center to be built and then detailed plans would be submitted.
The reclaimed water is currently discharged to the Cape Fear River as described below. Details on amounts of water loss and water quality concerns are also discussed below.
In summary, one data center using 1-3 million gallons per day of water with an estimated evaporative loss of one-third indicates a potential loss to Cape Fear River discharge of 122 to 365 million gallons of water per year or in river discharge terms between 1.5 to 4.6 cubic feet per second (cfs). USACE is required to maintain a minimum discharge from Jordan Lake into the Cape Fear of 600 cfs according to USGS. We also see Jordan Lake levels dropping by 6.5 feet since August 2025.
We need to be looking at the cumulative impacts of this and other proposed data centers and residential/industrial developments along the Cape Fear watershed to understand the potential impacts to all communities. Please let us know if you want to join our efforts to collaborate along with other groups we are communicating with including Haw River Assembly, NC Environmental Justice Network, Clean Water for NC, and others. The DEQ SWAP tool can be very helpful for determining water sources.
The Cary facility I mentioned is the "Western Wake Regional Water Reclamation Facility (WWRWRF)"
Their website states, "Tertiary treatment of the effluent is provided through filters and then ultraviolet disinfection is utilized for final pathogen disinfection. Finally, the treated wastewater is aerated in the post aeration basin before being pumped to the Cape Fear River.
Effluent from the treatment process is pumped through an 11-mile pipeline to the discharge location, downstream of Buckhorn Dam on the Cape Fear River. Additional aeration of the final effluent is provided through a cascade aeration structure before final release to the Cape Fear River."
Here's more background we sent to the Town of Apex Mayor:
Concern #2: Water Sources
*Note: The Army Corps of Engineers has passed a nationwide exemption on dumping construction sediment into water ways during construction of data centers and AI centers.
The proposed maximum use of 1 million gallons (MG) of water per day is unrealistic - given the proposed design, 1 MG/day (MGD) may represent the daily average over the course of an entire year, however, summer weather (high heat and humidity) will likely require 1.5 MGD. However, a developer’s request should be representative of twice of what is needed (2n), which means the developer should realistically be asking for a maximum of 3.0 MGD of water.
On November 12, the developer claimed that year-round water usage would be modest, in which the data center would only require water in the summer months (July to September) due to the NC heat. This is unrealistic and inconsistent with principles of hybrid adiabatic cooling processes, which also factor in humidity. Peak use should be expected to span from May to September; additional use should definitely be expected in April and October. While it is possible that little water will be required from November to March, this is ultimately dependent on weather conditions (in which NC has experienced warmer days during these months). The servers/chips that are used will also influence how much water is needed (and due to the unpredictable availability of these parts, the developer cannot provide more information concerning this).
On November 12, the developer claimed that the water from the Western Wake Regional Water Reclamation Facility (WWRWRF) will be “polished” before entering the cooling towers, but could not describe the processes for polishing nor the focus of what was going to be both removed (or added) to the water. A standard process involves removal of solids, microbial disinfection, addition of anti-scalants and biocides, and ion exchange for softening. Removal of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or forever chemicals given that they don’t easily disintegrate in various media or in the human body, and thus stay forever) is not considered to be standard.
Despite the introduction of biocides, it is still possible for biofilms and legionella to thrive in cooling towers. Warm temperatures, sunlight, and remaining nutrients from the reclaimed water can help bacteria to thrive and attach to areas of the cooling towers. Legionella can cause a type of pneumonia called Legionnaire’s disease; the aerosolized bacteria can travel long distances and kill ~10% of people infected on average. A reminder that prevailing winds come from the southwest for most of the year and those most susceptible to disease development often have underlying lung function issues. No planned regular cleaning of the cooling towers has been proposed to further mitigate this. High-efficiency drift eliminators to mitigate particle release have also not been discussed by the developer as a mitigation effort.
The developer has not discussed use of dielectric fluid to be utilized as part of the cooling systems despite this being a common practice. The use of PFAS-based dielectric fluids creates a persistent risk of fluorinated gas (or F gas) emissions through maintenance evaporation, seal degradation, and accidental leaks, potentially turning this facility into a significant local source of 'forever chemical' pollution.
F gas can last for years to decades in the atmosphere, unlike water vapor which lasts for days. F gas can travel far distances (in excess of 50 miles under the right conditions) but heavier particles will deposit within 50 miles of the source. F gas can break down into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and wash out with rain, accumulating in ground water and leafy vegetables in gardens. Acute inhalation may result in dizziness, heart palpitations and respiratory distress, while long term exposure may cause liver and kidney damage, suppress the immune system, disrupt the thyroid, cause fertility and reproductive development problems, and promote development of certain types of cancer. Increased deposition of PFAS in Jordan Lake may require more frequent changes of carbon filters used for municipal water preparation.
The developer’s plan proposes minimal blowdown since water is planned to be returned to WWRWRF, but this is not guaranteed since blowdown may be too concentrated for the facility to accept (the facility director has stated this to multiple people who have taken the facility tour). No alternative plan that does not discharge into the environment is proposed.
The developer proposes use of municipal water when WWRWRF is offline for maintenance (planned or unplanned). Again, they likely need more water than they are asking for at peak use. Given drought history for the last 5 years (see below), it is likely that use of municipal water by the data center will exacerbate drought conditions and result in the restriction of residential water use. Although the WWRWRF has a planned 10-14 day outage in February, in which little water may be needed, this is not guaranteed as it could be offline for a longer period of time or it could be unseasonably warm; more recently there was scheduled maintenance that occurred in May 2025, a time of year that the data center (if built) will require more water. The Apex area has experienced droughts spanning all 4 seasons. Further, a sudden “turning on” of this amount of water toward the data center will affect pressures throughout town; changes in velocity will scour pipes and potentially affect function of appliances in homes, and may also result in water main breaks, especially in areas with older pipes.
Drought dates since 2020:
Abnormally Dry; D0: May 2021 - July 2021
Severe; D2: October 26, 2021 - August 16, 2022
Moderate; D1: August 15, 2023 - January 23, 2024
Severe; D2: October 24, 2024 - June 10, 2025
Severe; D2: August 15, 2025 - present
The developer claims that water from WWRWRF is not a part of the inter-basin transfer, and while they may be correct in a very narrow legal sense, this is not accurate from a hydrology perspective in which it is expected that the water will be discharged into the Cape Fear River Basin to support downstream flows. Evaporation of ⅓ of the water that goes into the data center is a permanent removal from the water cycle and will ultimately reduce what Fayetteville and Wilmington receive.”
NC Warn, Evan Cobey
I just spoke with Bill letting him know that our current focus on datacenters lies with convincing Governor Stein of the need for a moratorium. As I mentioned, I wanted to connect you with Steph at Clean Water for NC (steph@cwfnc.org) who may have the capacity to assist you with this project. I have let her know to keep an eye out for your email should you choose to reach out. Thank you very much again for connecting on this matter, and I look forward to keeping in touch about future collaborations.
Steph Gans, Clean Water for North Carolina CWFNC.org
She provided several great ideas and links to information including suggesting I reach out to the first contact mentioned with Cape Fear Riverkeeper
NC DEQ Source Water Assessment Map (SWAP)
State Water Competitiveness Plan from NC Chamber of Commerce
Town of Cary Water Consumer Confidence Report
Source Water Assessment Report for Town of Cary
NC Drinking Water Watch (issues with your water utility, violations etc):
Interbasin Transfer elsewhere, removing from Cape Fear River Basin and into Neuse
Luma Kennedy and Rania Masri, NCEJN
(Sent on 12 January 2026)
“Great to speak with you today! As we discussed, I'm sending you initial information. I know this can be overwhelming on any one issue and I'm amazed at just the available water information to consider organizing for GIS layers. I can help sort it all out just want to give you an initial overview. Let me know if you want to discuss further or if you have what you need for now?
One way to organize a slide show or poster is to take the site photo as a natural sink for surface and groundwater with trees; becomes a construction site as well as other adjacent land for laydown areas - trees leveled and soil removed, traffic issues; flooding and runoff, sediments clogging streams; then the data center footprint with impervious surfaces and stormwater retention ponds onsite. Taking water from 1 million gallons per day wastewater treatment plant for recycled cooling as well as potable drinking water supplies for irrigation etc. Concerns for water supply from Jordan Lake and water flowing back to Cape Fear river loss estimated at 1/3. We could also mention climate change increasing severe weather events as well as heat islands from loss of vegetation.
PWCC website: https://protectwakecounty.org
My website: https://www.conserve-prosper.com
Natelli application for data center with site maps and footprint: https://www.apexnc.org/DocumentCenter/View/51820/25CZ14?bidId=
WakeCounty iMap: https://www.wake.gov/departments-government/geographic-information-services-gis
Haw - Cape Fear Rivers drainage: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1111/ML11117A741.pdf
Public Water supplies 6 miles around nuclear plant: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1111/ML11117A765.pdf
Topographic features: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1111/ML11117A815.pdf
USGS study in Wake County - see especially figures 4 and 6: https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sir20255087
USGS well yields in Wake County - see figure 3: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2022/5041/sir20225041.pdf
Heat islands in Raleigh-Apex area: https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/08/09/raleigh-urban-heat-islands
Update January 26, 2026
In September 2022, Wake County launched the development of a 50-year water planning document that is currently in draft and soon to become final. Here are a few quotes:
“The County’s population is primarily served through one of three system types: municipal water supply systems (1 million people), private drinking water wells (90,000 people) or privately owned community water systems (85,000 people).
“Wake County had 1.1 million residents in 2024. Each year, the County gains another 25,000 residents, or about 60 people per day—one of the highest population growth rates in the nation. These growth trends are expected to continue, with another 250,000 new residents added to Wake County over the next decade. In the next 50 years, by 2075, Wake County’s population is expected to more than double, to well over 2 million residents (Wake County 2021).
“Modeled projections in the County show reduced infiltration, increased stormwater runoff volume, increased frequency of flooding and high-flow events, increased pollution and increased demand for water.
“Town of Apex population is projected to increase from 71,988 people in 2021 to 182,000 by 2070. As a result, water demand is expected to increase from 5.6 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2021 to 14.4 mid by 2070.
I doubt that Wake County considered the impacts of a 300 MW data center requiring 1 or more mgd from the town water supply as well as related impacts such as from loss of ground-water infiltration and increased runoff.