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US Cities Eye AI Data Center Limits as Study Flags Water Risks
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Cities across the U.S. are restricting AI data center development as communities raise concerns about water supplies, electricity costs, and land use.
Key facts
- This rise in opposition to AI data centers has also led to arrests, with at least 37 Americans detained during AI data center protests in 2026 so far
- Those plants withdraw about 3.4 trillion gallons of freshwater annually, equal to 10.4 million acre-feet
- In June, San Marcos, Texas, barred data centers under its zoning laws, while Durham, North Carolina, and Cave City, Kentucky, imposed moratoriums
- Overall, we saw that 66% of the power plants that use water in those states were exposed to medium to high water stress,” Kristen James, senior program director for water at Ceres, said
Summary
Cities in Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, and New Jersey have pursued bans or moratoriums on data centers. Power plants serving data centers in seven states withdraw about 3.4 trillion gallons of freshwater annually. At least 75 proposed projects worth about $130 billion faced local opposition in early 2026. Austin, Texas, became the latest city to act Thursday, when its City Council voted unanimously to begin drafting rules that could restrict or exclude new data centers.