Data Centers and Water Impacts

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UPDATE: This episode was recorded on July 1, 2026. On July 21, Ohio EPA announced it will NOT finalize a proposed general permit for data centers. For additional information on this please visit Ohio EPA's website.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE seems to be everywhere. Whether we're using a chatbot, saving files to the cloud, or asking Google a question, we're relying on infrastructure that's largely invisible to us: data centers. As demand for AI and cloud computing accelerates, so do questions about the resources needed to support this digital economy—resources like water! We were very interested in bringing some light to this hot-button topic in this, our first virtual episode, featuring a panel of guests from Central Ohio, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

Dr. Landon Marston is an Associate Professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research group looks at how and where water is used within the economy as well as the environmental consequences associated with economic production and consumption.

John Newsome is Administrator of the Division of Water at Columbus Water and Power and has served with the city’s Department of Public Utilities since 2006. We’ve asked John to give CWP’s perspective on this emerging technology and water demands in Central Ohio, a national hub for data centers.

Also with CWP, Sarah Bloom Anderson serves as Assistant Director of Policy and shares some information from the wastewater side: what happens to the water used to cool the servers in data centers.

And Dr. Peter Grevatt is CEO of the Water Research Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization in Washington D.C. which funds and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, water reuse, and stormwater systems. Peter discusses current research projects the WRF is supporting.

Utility Perspectives on Data Center Survey

Dr. Marston's team at Virginia Tech, in partnership with WRF and the American Water Works Association, is conducting a survey among water and wastewater utilities regarding data centers. If you would like to participate, follow this link.