AI has come for Arizona’s water

Arizona welcomed TSMC’s massive Phoenix chip fab, which uses nearly 5 million gallons of water a day from the municipal supply, but a bipartisan grassroots coalition now opposes newer hyperscale data centers such as Beale Infrastructure’s Project Blue near Tucson, citing water scarcity and the state’s impending loss of nearly 30 percent of its Colorado River water. Despite protests, lawsuits and Tucson’s rejection of annexation, construction continues, with the county approving wells drawing up to 31 million gallons of groundwater a year for construction.