A proposed 330-megawatt artificial intelligence data center in California promises not to use Colorado River water. Now requires 260 million gallons per year | World News

The artificial intelligence craze is spreading across data centers around the world faster than most tech projects. These AI lifelines rely on two vital resources: water and electricity, which they use in their regions. This often results in a fight between locals and the tech giants who own the data centers, because resources are limited and demand is not.The artificial intelligence data center under construction in Southern California’s Imperial Valley is a typical example. The 330-megawatt data center, considered the largest artificial intelligence data center in the state, had earlier pledged not to use water from the Colorado River. But now the developers behind the project are suing to claim water from the river, which has become a source of fresh water for 40 million people and is at the center of countless water disputes across the West.

The Colorado River is the only source of fresh water in the Imperial Valley, which has long faced drought and water supply problems. It is also the largest water user among the seven states that rely on the river. Farmers used about 80% of the full state allocation.The lawsuit, filed in June 2026 by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, said the company’s data centers use 287 million gallons of water. The filing comes after the cities of El Centro and Imperial rejected bids to use recycled wastewater to cool proposed data centers. The Imperial Irrigation District, the local agency that delivers Colorado River water in the Imperial Valley, rejected the company’s request to provide water for the project. At the same time, communities across the United States have launched boycotts of data centers. People in the Imperial Valley are clamoring for data centers. At a late March meeting reported by KPBS News in California, the crowd became unruly as Ruch spoke and the board went into recess.Sebastian Rucci, the Huntington Beach attorney and businessman who pushed the plan, said the project would not increase overall demand on the river because the company would fallow or stop irrigating nearby farmland and use the water to cool data centers. The proposal would have “zero impact” because the data center would not require any additional appropriations from the Colorado River, he said, adding that its water needs would be similar to those of a 160-acre farm. However, the developer walked back a statement saying he had no intention of using the over-allocated Colorado River water.For water experts and local advocates, the case raises a bigger question than how much water a single data center should use. As water becomes increasingly scarce and demands from new industries increase, should water historically used for agriculture be repurposed to power the AI ​​boom?

From agriculture to data centers?

The Imperial Valley is known for growing top commodities like cattle, alfalfa lettuce and spinach. John Fleck, an author and water policy expert at the University of New Mexico, told Business Insider, “Taking land away from agricultural production and using it for other uses, even in small amounts, is a matter of values.”Michael Cohen, a senior fellow at the Pacific Institute who focuses on water use in the Colorado River Basin, said the problem isn’t necessarily the amount of water but developers’ plans to use farmland, dry it out and then reallocate it for industrial use.The Imperial Valley’s economy has long relied on Colorado River agriculture. Rhett Larson, a water law expert at Arizona State University, said if it weren’t for areas near Imperial and Yuma, Arizona, “nobody in the United States would be able to afford a salad in February.” He added that while farmers can make money by selling their land or water rights, the people who are often harmed are fertilizer salesmen, tractor mechanics, teachers, dry cleaners or anyone in these rural communities who doesn’t have land or water rights to sell.

A bright future?

Ruch said his company has a contract to buy land and water rights from farmers. He also said he adopted the strategy after a proposal to use recycled water was rejected. He added that the data center will bring significant economic benefits to Imperial County, including 1,688 construction jobs, more than 100 permanent jobs and an estimated $2.95 billion in economic improvements over 30 years, citing an independent economic study prepared for the county. While individual landowners may profit from the practice, taking farmland out of production can have knock-on effects on farming communities, including reducing agriculture-related employment opportunities.“Economic diversification is exactly what this region needs,” Ruch said in an emailed statement to the media, citing Imperial County’s high unemployment rate. As of May, the county’s unemployment rate was about 17%, according to state data.Eric Reyes, an Imperial Valley resident and executive director of the advocacy group Los Amigos de la Comunidad, said he is concerned the lawsuit is an attempt to circumvent the Imperial Irrigation District (IDD). IDD is a publicly owned utility governed by an elected board that has long owned water rights in the area, not individual landowners. He said the developer’s plan “raises a huge red flag” because it could involve “private dealings with landowners and then using it for their own purposes”.“Rucci, however, rejected the notion that the company was trying to circumvent IID controls and said farmers have the right to allocate water under state law and that the proposals would not require “one more drop of water” in the Colorado River.“The Colorado River Basin has to decide what we want to do when we grow up and how we can get there,” Larson said. “We have enough water to do a lot of great things. But we don’t have enough water to do every good thing.”