Protest signs across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona have drawn attention to concerns about the environmental impact of rapidly expanding data centers, which support the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Signs reading "Protect our water," "Water for people not AI," and "Don't mess with our water" highlight public worry about the water use, energy consumption, and pollution linked to these facilities. Data centers, which house powerful computers used for AI and other digital tasks, require large amounts of water for cooling, as processors can reach temperatures as high as 176 degrees Fahrenheit. While the energy use of data centers is well-known, their water consumption is less clear, with estimates ranging from 500 milliliters of water per AI query to claims that the issue is negligible. Experts estimate that data center cooling systems consumed 66 billion liters of water in 2023—less than 1 percent of the nation’s total water use. However, as AI technology grows, these numbers could increase, especially in regions already facing water shortages. Engineers are working on solutions to reduce the strain, such as achieving net-zero water use for on-site cooling. Recent advancements in AI have also led to more efficient models, significantly lowering water demand. For example, while earlier estimates suggested that writing a short email might use 500 milliliters of water, newer models like Google’s Gemini require as little as five drops of water per query. By 2030, U.S. data centers could consume between 731 billion and 1,125 billion liters of water annually, with the higher figure equivalent to New York City’s yearly drinking water supply. This increase could be driven by the need for cooling and generating electricity as data centers expand. A 2025 study suggested that shifting to renewable energy sources, improving AI processor efficiency, and strategically placing data centers in regions with less drought risk could significantly reduce water use. Potential locations include parts of Montana, Nebraska, Texas, and South Dakota, rather than water-stressed areas like Arizona and Southern California. Innovations in cooling technology are helping to address these challenges. Many newer data centers use liquid cooling, which is more efficient than traditional air cooling. This method uses pipes filled with water or temperature-regulating chemicals to cool processors directly, reducing water loss through closed-loop systems. Some companies are even exploring immersion cooling, where hardware is submerged in cooling liquid, and others are repurposing waste heat from data centers to improve sustainability. Companies like Amazon, Google, and OpenAI have set sustainability goals, including returning more water to communities than they use and replenishing 120 percent of the freshwater they consume by 2030. The future of AI’s water use will depend on decisions about where data centers are located, how they are powered, and the technologies they use.