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Water is Life. No argument there. Try living without it. Because of the concern over water shortages and pollution caused by Data Centers, activists around New York State fought successfully for the NYS legislature to enact a one-year moratorium on approving Data Centers. A win for the good guys. Well, we hope anyway. Governor Hochul has yet to sign it. She has until December 31, 2026. Calls and emails to her office supporting the moratorium could be instrumental in her signing.

Fortunately, Google and Microsoft have pledged to become completely water-positive by 2030 (replenish more water than they take). Stated simply, they are making infrastructure investments that will use air-cooled solutions and reclaimed water, rather than fresh water in running their data centers.

Unfortunately, despite their promises, data centers consumed roughly 1 trillion liters of water across North America, which prompted arguments from environmentally-friendly groups that there is a need for more transparency and site level data usage disclosures. Also, unfortunately, Amazon Web Services, META, Oracle, and Open AI, as well as third-party providers like Compass data centers and Evolution data centers need to commit to using zero-water cooling technology as well.

The proposed moratorium gives tech companies the opportunity to protect our water. Let’s hope they and the Governor do the right thing.