How real is a water scarcity threat, re: Building Data Centers?

On a local level, opposition to data centers seems to be pretty bi-partisan.

The only people that seem to want them are the people selling their land to them and the politicians they're paying off.

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What more do you need other than realize it's all liberal B.S. than the fact Bernie Sanders opposes them?

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I mean, water wealthy Baton Rouge is facing the collapse of its aquifer because industry already pulls too much too fast, but sure, all made up by liberals

One near me is currently being fought over and the real complaint (besides not in my back yard) is data centers are energy hogs which inevitably result in higher utility bills for everyone in the area. They're also water hogs but enclosed systems can be created to recycle their initial water in a closed loop, allegedly.

The city council sell is the creation of jobs and millions added to the tax base, allegedly.

Here in Missouri Josh Hawley is trying to force them to generate their own electric. How? Not sure but it could be a win-win at that point. Although if it's like everything else, I'm sure even that cost would be felt by the consumer with increased prices for propane, natural gas or however they generate their power.

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I mean, water wealthy Baton Rouge is facing the collapse of its aquifer because industry already pulls too much too fast, but sure, all made up by liberals

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But but but it all goes back into the water cycle

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is data centers are energy hogs which inevitably result in higher utility bills for everyone in the area

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Seriously? I didn't know that. I can see why it's more bipartisan at local levels then.

Only those that grow with the progress, adapt and change the impact they have on the environment. Musk has introduced the use of small nuke sources.

The critique on data centers in terms of raising energy prices is legit. They're hogs when it comes to energy usage.

However, the "ZOMG THEY'RE TAKING ALL OUR WATERZ!" shows a complete ignorance on modern data center construction and cooling systems.

Cant speak to other states, but for Louisiana specifically, we have no recent studies or estimates on what our state water budget is, and thus, have no real way of knowing if data center proposals are going to overdraw a particular aquifer or not. We also dont have any state water law beyond the same governing laws for say, O&G extraction, which are that if you can tap into it, you can take it. We have no state laws governing the sale of water as a commodity to others (e.g., Texas trying to tap into the Sabine/Toledo Bend).

I am a pretty conservative person, but the engineer in me has some pause on whether letting things go gangbusters is the best idea until we know what our water budget even is. People think "oh it is Louisiana, we have so much water everywhere" but that really isnt the case and the public often confuses episodic nuisance surface water events (floods) with the continuous draws of ground or streamflow for industry and agriculture. Farmers and industry across the Sparta, Chicot, and Southern Hills aquifers are drilling wells deeper and deeper; BR has had a myriad of issues with the Capitol Area Groundwater Commission fights just to monitor withdrawals.

If we have the water, great, but it would be safe to do some reconnaissance first before we promise everything to every data center.

So many lunatics are spreading this propaganda without ever providing real case studies or facts.