New Mexico data center water use could soar in coming years, researcher tells state lawmakers

Water use for data centers across New Mexico could soar in the coming years, an analyst told state lawmakers Monday. The lion’s share of that water would go toward “indirect use,” such as cooling the power plants that fuel the data centers.

By: Joshua Bowling

Outlets: Source New Mexico

Published: September 1, 2026

Words: 701

Last Updated: 14 hours, 3 minutes ago

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Water use for data centers across New Mexico could soar in the coming years, an analyst told state lawmakers Monday.

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Currently, data centers in the state use just more than 500 million gallons of water annually, accounting for one-half of 1% of the state’s total water use, Houston Advanced Research Center Vice President of Water and Community Resilience Margaret Cook told legislators on the interim …

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