Data Centers Eyeing Farmers’ Water Rights to Meet Cooling Needs
With the rising demand for data centers, a new potential source of water could come from a surprising place: farmers’ irrigation rights. This shift might offer a solution for the significant water requirements of these centers, according to insights shared by a legal expert in agricultural law.
Data centers, known for their high water usage due to cooling needs, may soon start purchasing water rights traditionally used for agriculture. Dave Aiken, a professor and agricultural law specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability, explained this potential trend.
“The way the ethanol plants got the water they needed was by buying out irrigators and irrigated water rights, and using that groundwater to run the ethanol plant. And in those western NRDs, where that kind of system has been set up, that would work very well for data centers,” Aiken stated.
The proposal of new data centers has sparked debates in various parts of Nebraska, leading some counties to implement a moratorium on their development. Aiken highlighted the essential role that natural resources districts and county authorities might play in deciding the future of data centers, especially considering their potential impact on local water resources.
