By Zamone Perez
Consumers in the Potomac River Basin are being encouraged to limit their water use and river health groups stressed data centers with high water usage need to heed the call.
Below-average rainfall and groundwater supply have put the large watershed in conditions ranging from abnormally dry to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Officials have asked for voluntary water conservation in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Pat Calvert, Virginia director of conservation for the environmental nonprofit American Rivers, said data centers need to adhere to preservation practices taking shape around the Commonwealth.
“We need to preserve our water supply right now by using common sense water conservation measures at the personal level but I also believe it’s at the permitted level, so that includes everybody,” Calvert asserted. “Businesses and industries that are using water need to be also held to account.”
Virginia is home to one of the largest concentrations of hyperscale data centers in the country. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, larger facilities can consume up to 5 million gallons a day to cool their servers, the equivalent of a city with a population of 50,000.
This year, Virginia lawmakers passed bills requiring water utilities to send yearly or quarterly reports on data center water usage. Calvert acknowledged the policies, set to begin in January 2027, will be helpful.
Calvert argued officials need to be cognizant of the potential overstressing of the Potomac, which can affect water accessibility.
“We certainly need to be vigilant in ensuring that everybody is part of this effort to ensure that we’re using our dwindling water resources wisely and that conservation measures are being considered seriously across the board,” Calvert urged.
Forecasters said there is a nearly 50% chance the Potomac River will experience low flow through the end of the year. If it happens, officials may need to release additional water supply from two D.C.-area reservoirs.
Larger, AI-focused data centers could spur even more water consumption, according to a study by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. (Adobe Stock)
