Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a California bill that would have compelled data centers to disclose their water consumption beginning in 2025. State lawmakers are now publicly urging the governor to reverse his decision and sign the legislation, arguing that the public lacks essential information about how much water the industry uses.
The measure was designed to create a reporting requirement for data‑center operators, mandating that they release annual water‑use figures. Supporters say the transparency would help policymakers assess the environmental impact of the sector, which relies on large volumes of water to cool the servers that power artificial‑intelligence applications.
California’s data‑center industry consumes billions of gallons of water each year for cooling purposes. Despite the scale of that usage, the state does not currently maintain a public database or reporting system that tracks the amount of water drawn by these facilities. Lawmakers contend that without such data, it is difficult to evaluate the sector’s contribution to overall water demand, especially during periods of drought.
In the wake of the veto, legislators have reiterated the bill’s intent to fill the information gap and have called on the governor to reconsider. They emphasize that the reporting requirement would not impose new usage limits but would simply make existing consumption figures available to the public and to state agencies tasked with water‑resource management.
The debate comes as California continues to grapple with water scarcity challenges while simultaneously hosting a growing number of data‑center operations that support the nation’s expanding digital economy. The outcome of the governor’s reconsideration could shape how the state balances technological growth with water‑conservation priorities.
No further action on the bill has been reported beyond the legislators’ appeals, and the governor has not indicated a timeline for any possible reversal of his veto.