California’s largest planned AI data centre has filed a lawsuit to gain access to Colorado River water after its original plan to use recycled wastewater for cooling fell through. According to a report by Business Insider, the lawsuit has been filed by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing which says that it needs around 287 million gallons of water a year to cool its proposed 330-megawatt facility, which would be the biggest AI data centre in the state. The company had earlier promised not to use Colorado River water because it expected to receive treated wastewater from nearby cities. But after two cities rejected its request, the company is now seeking access to river water, raising concerns about its impact on farming in the region.
Company says wastewater rejection forced change in plans
The proposed data centre in California is said to be the state’s largest data centre. It was originally designed to use reclaimed wastewater supplied by the cities of El Centro and Imperial. However, both cities declined to provide the water for cooling. The Imperial Irrigation District (IID), which manages Colorado River water in the region, also rejected the company’s request. Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing has now filed a lawsuit seeking access to the water. The company is now asking for about 287 million gallons of water a year, or roughly 750,000 gallons a day.Although that amounts to only 0.028% of the IID’s annual Colorado River allocation, the request has sparked opposition because of where the water would come from.
Why California’s largest AI data centre is opposed
The Colorado River supplies water to about 40 million people across seven western US states and is the only source of fresh water for around 180,000 people in Imperial Valley. Agriculture uses around 80% of California’s Colorado River allocation, while 95% to 97% of the water distributed by the IID goes to farms.According to the company, the project would not require additional water from the river. Instead, it plans to buy nearby farmland along with its existing water rights and transfer those allocations to the data centre after farming on the land stops.Project lawyer Sebastian Rucci said the facility’s water use would be similar to that of a 160-acre farm and would not increase pressure on the Colorado River. However, water experts say the issue is not the amount of water the project needs but the long-term impact of converting farmland into industrial land.“There’s a lot of resistance in any agricultural community to ‘buy and dry’ because that’s jobs,” a senior fellow at the Pacific Institute told Business Insider.Experts warned that while landowners may benefit from selling farmland and water rights, surrounding communities could lose jobs not only on farms but also in businesses that support agriculture, including equipment suppliers, repair shops and fertiliser sellers.The company says the project would create 1,688 construction jobs, more than 100 permanent jobs, and generate an estimated $2.95 billion in economic impact over 30 years. However, critics question whether those permanent jobs would make up for the potential loss of hundreds, or even thousands, of farming and agriculture-related jobs in a region that has long depended on farming.
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