Weather & Science
Colorado River Water Woes Threaten Arizona’s AI Boom
Data center water demand in the state is slated to soar as the Colorado River dries up.
A section of the Central Arizona Project, a series of aqueducts and tunnels designed to bring water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona, in Scottsdale.
Photographer: Rebecca Noble/BloombergArizona’s water-reliant data centers powering the artificial intelligence surge are expanding rapidly — just as the state faces shrinking supplies amid a climate-driven water crisis.
AI projects under construction in the state could spike data center water demand 67% to 5 billion gallons annually in coming years, Bloomberg Intelligence predicts, based on its modeling of industry and government data.