Big Tech's water demand for AI data centers sparks global resistance

AI data centers consume 1–5 million gallons of water a day, comparable to a city of 10,000–50,000 people. In Chile, residents of Cerrillos rejected Google's $200 million data center, which would have drawn 169 liters per second — as much as all 80,000 residents drink in a year.

• Training the first ChatGPT version required about 185,000 gallons of water
• A hyperscale data center uses 1–5 million gallons of water per day
• Google's Cerrillos project: 169 liters per second, equal to a year of drinking water for 80,000 people
• 49% of Cerrillos voters rejected Google's data center project