While a couple months back an article[1] discussed how Google was keeping the water requirements a secret from locals who wanted transparency, claiming it was proprietary knowledge.

So they sued and discovered it will use 2-8 million gallons of drinking water per day[2], seemingly near the limit of their capacity to handle, judging by comments from officials.

> 'That water supply that otherwise would not be required until 2060 or the 2060s, suddenly becomes something that we need to be worried about during the 2030s.’

> If it exceeds that demand, they’re going to have to start looking for a new water source.

So I'm not sure how this fits with the claims of the article from the OP. I suppose if anything it disproportionately affects certain places not as well equipped for it?

[1] https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/06/how-much-water-do-the-dat...

[2] https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2026/02/26/google-data-cente...

author of Pivot to AI here. The impacts are local, but real bad for those localities.

Also, the fact that the AI hyperscalers will sue to keep the usage secret isn't something they're doing 'cos the usage looks good.