FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): A proposed artificial intelligence data center in Southern California is drawing increased scrutiny after developers sought access to Colorado River water despite earlier assurances that the project would rely exclusively on recycled wastewater.
According to reports from public broadcaster KPBS, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing (IVCM) is asking a court to force the Imperial Irrigation District to provide approximately 260 million gallons of water annually for a planned AI data center complex in California’s Imperial Valley. That amounts to roughly 750,000 gallons per day.
Earlier this year, project developer Sebastian Rucci said the facility would operate using reclaimed wastewater from nearby communities and would not draw from the Colorado River, a critical water source already under pressure from years of drought across the Southwest.
Court filings now indicate the company was unable to secure agreements with neighboring cities for recycled water supplies and turned to the irrigation district after negotiations failed.
The proposed water use has become a flashpoint in a growing national debate over the rapid expansion of AI-related infrastructure. While data centers power everything from cloud computing to artificial intelligence applications, they also require significant amounts of electricity and water to cool servers and maintain operations.
The issue has become increasingly relevant in Indiana as well.
Northeast Indiana has emerged as an attractive location for data center development because of its relatively stable power grid, abundant freshwater resources, lower natural disaster risk, and available industrial land. Unlike parts of the Southwest, Fort Wayne and much of Indiana are not dependent on a single drought-stricken river system for water supplies.
However, industry experts note that modern data centers can still consume millions of gallons of water annually depending on their size and cooling technology. As AI computing demands continue to grow, communities across the country are increasingly weighing the economic benefits of data center investment against concerns over energy consumption, infrastructure demands, and long-term resource use.
In California, local officials are already considering restrictions. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss a temporary pause on new data center development, while the Imperial Irrigation District is reviewing policies that could impose new rates or regulations on large industrial users.
Developers argue the project’s water consumption could be offset by taking nearby farmland out of production, contending that the agricultural land currently uses roughly the same amount of water the data center would require.
The outcome of the dispute could influence how future AI data centers secure water resources as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to accelerate across the United States.
