Dexter’s Amendment to Protect Water from Data Center Strain Passes Republican-Controlled House

Amendment would require Department of Energy to interrogate water usage at data centers.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03), the top Democrat on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, successfully attached an amendment to the Republican Energy and Water funding bill that gives the federal government the tools it needs to understand and address how new technological demands are straining our communities’ water. The amendment comes as new reporting shows data centers can consume billions of gallons of water a year, straining communities already facing scarcity. 

“Data centers are draining our most precious resource: water. Some consume up to 5 million gallons a day—the same as an entire town. As the climate crisis fuels water scarcity across the country, we cannot afford to look away. As the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Oversight Subcommittee, I won’t,” said Dexter. “Even in the face of an otherwise damning bill that guts clean energy and raises costs, I’m proud we found consensus to safeguard water for our communities.” 

Dexter’s amendment would require the Department of Energy to conduct a study assessing current and projected water use by data centers, associated impacts on local water resources, and best practices and technologies to reduce water consumption. The amendment passed by voice vote. The text can be found here.