Drought has long been a challenge in California's Imperial Valley.
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The developer behind what would be California's largest AI data center is suing for access to Colorado River water, the threatened source of freshwater for 40 million people and the subject of countless disputes over water use in the West.The lawsuit, filed this month by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, says the company needs access to 287 million gallons of water for the 330-megawatt data center. If the proposed project in Southern California's Imperial Valley is built, it would be the largest AI data center in the state.The lawsuit was filed after the Imperial Irrigation District, a local agency that delivers Colorado River water in the Imperial Valley, denied the company's request for water for the project. It also comes as communities across the US push back against data centers. The Colorado River is the only source of freshwater in the Imperial Valley, which has long faced drought and water supply issues.The developer, Sebastian Rucci, said the project would not add to demand on the river overall because the company would fallow, or stop irrigating, nearby farmland and use that water to cool the data center instead.Rucci told Business Insider the proposal would have "zero impact" because the data center would not require any additional allocation from the Colorado River, adding that its water demand would be similar to that of a 160-acre farm.Water experts and local advocates say the case raises a bigger question than how much water a single data center should use: As water becomes scarcer and new industries increase demand, should water historically used for farming be redirected to power the AI boom?Moving water from farming to data centersImperial Valley's identity has been tied to farming, with cattle, alfalfa, lettuce, and spinach among its top commodities. John Fleck, a writer and water policy expert at the University of New Mexico, told Business Insider that "taking land out of agricultural production to use for other things is a values question, even if it's a small amount."
