Data centers' water use vastly overstated: just 4% of US golf course irrigation
kimmonismus · x · 2026-11-07
kimmonismus pushes back on claims that data centers are a major water drain: large US data centers consumed an estimated 19–23 billion gallons on site in 2024 (Han et al., 2026) — only about 4% of the 532 billion gallons US golf courses used for irrigation that year (GCSAA). He notes the golf figure includes recycled water while the data-center figure covers on-site consumption only, and argues many anti-data-center water narratives amount to lies. Attached charts show projected DC water use through 2030 and golf course water statistics.
Related event: US Data Center Water Use Only 4% of Golf Course Irrigation, Study Finds(3 posts)→
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