Datacenter water use? California governor says don't ask, don't tell
- Reference: 1760360823
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/10/13/california_datacenter_water_bill/
- Source link:
Assembly Bill 93 would have mandated that data center operators provide water suppliers with estimates of expected usage before obtaining business licenses, followed by annual reports of actual consumption when renewing permits. However, in an October 11 [1]letter [PDF] to the California State Assembly, Newsom declined to sign the bill.
"While I appreciate the author's intent, I am reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements about operational details on this sector without understanding the full impact on businesses and the consumers of their technology," Newsom wrote.
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Newsom also noted AI-driven demand for datacenter capacity throughout the nation, and as "the global epicenter of the technology sector," California is strategically positioned to support infrastructure development within the state - and he doesn't want to do anything that may discourage this.
[3]
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According to the bill's sponsor, assembly member Diane Papan, the legislation would have enabled the Department of Water Resources to categorize datacenters into tiers based on factors affecting water consumption, and apply appropriate standards for each tier.
The proposal comes as California faces ongoing water challenges. The latest US Drought Monitor (USDM) [5]map for the state shows large areas currently abnormally dry or even in extreme drought.
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The governor announced a new reservoir infrastructure project in August, saying at the time: "We can't wait to protect our state from water shortages – there are 40 million Californians depending on us. I am pleased to see the Sites Reservoir project move forward with additional funding, and urge the Legislature to continue to make our state's water future a priority."
[7]The price is wrong! California goes Bob Barker on algorithmic price rigging
[8]We're all going to be paying AI's Godzilla-sized power bills
[9]Climate goals go up in smoke as US datacenters turn to coal
[10]An idea that won't sink: China planning underwater datacenter deployment
The topic of datacenter water consumption remains contentious, with [11]some sources claiming that massive bit barns chug through up to 5 million gallons per day, equivalent to the water use of a town populated by 10,000 to 50,000 people. Some players in the industry like to claim that it [12]isn't really that big a problem , however.
It isn't just California where this debate is raging. An unusually hot and dry summer in Europe has [13]raised concerns about the availability of water and the impact of high-density, heat-intensive infrastructure used for AI training.
The European Commission unveiled a [14]water resilience strategy for the region earlier this year, and this was met with suggestions from Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe (CISPE), a trade body representing cloud operators.
It called for measures to support Europe-wide schemes for the treatment and reuse of municipal wastewater for uses such as datacenter cooling, but also [15]warned about imposing new water regulations , saying these risk "shifting infrastructure outside the EU" – in other words, they might take their bit barns and play elsewhere. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AB-93-Veto.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aO0iFe7OinyyAXz0KubzCQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aO0iFe7OinyyAXz0KubzCQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aO0iFe7OinyyAXz0KubzCQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aO0iFe7OinyyAXz0KubzCQAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/08/california_bans_algorithmic_price_fixing/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/13/ai_power_bills/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/10/datacenter_coal_power/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/06/underwater_dc_china/
[11] https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/googles_gemini_water/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/27/datacenter_water_challenge/
[14] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/environment/water-resilience-strategy_en
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/30/cispe_eu_water_resilience/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I’m constantly amazed….
same thing happens across the pond I'm afraid.
Come to Wales!
The Welsh Government should advertise to AI companies:
"Come to Wales. If it's water you need, we have loads, it's always bloody raining.
And as a net exporter of electricity, we'd rather sell it to you guys than the English - and the waste heat will keep our sheep warm"
Re: Come to Wales!
Same in Scotland, except there you can probably air-cool most of the year so wouldn't even need to use much of the excess water available.
Re: Come to Wales!
Yabbut, the wee midgies are bound to block the transfer vents...
No surprise
He's really unfit to be governor of California, let alone president.
And that's truly unfortunate, because he's got a good shot at being the one to replace the tiny-fingered, ferret-wearing, cheeto-faced shitgibbon. We need somebody who will not just fix the mess, but actually accomplish good things.
California is an incredibly dumb place to put a data center, and there's no good reason for a politician to want one. They're incredibly wasteful of both water and electricity, and in a state with expensive electricity and constant water shortage.... And they don't even employ many people, once they're constructed it's just a tiny caretaker crew. The sane move would be to do everything possible to keep them out of your state. Newsom is a fool.
But he's good at trolling Mango Mussolini. And that's getting attention that might get him elected.
Re: No surprise
"and there's no good reason for a politician to want one"
The shoebox of cash says otherwise.
Re: No surprise
Students of post Soviet Russia may see him as the Putin to Trump's Yelstin.
"I am reluctant to impose rigid reporting requirements..."
> about operational details on this sector without understanding the full impact on businesses
The businesses will have to print out a number from their existing spreadsheets and pop it in the post.
> and the consumers of their technology
Heaven forfend you might encourage a consuming business to ever be able to do a decent cost/benefit analysis! How will they ever be able to look the shareholders and bankers straight in the eye if they ever had honest information without plausible deniability? Don't you people know how investment bubbles work?
Plenty of water available
Newsom also noted AI-driven demand for datacenter capacity throughout the nation, and as "the global epicenter of the technology sector,"
SoftBank's ARM is valued at $65 billion, I believe. Plenty of money to buy water to cool those datacenters. People can dig their wells.
I’m constantly amazed….
…at the US’s government and legislative bodies to totally screw-over the very people they are elected to serve.
In the tech news, is normally about the FCC that’s scuppered some plan that they deemed too helpful to the general public. But it seems to be a general issue.
And this all started LONG before the Orange Twat came on the scene.
AND THEY KEEP VOTING THEM IN!!!!