California AI data center sued over Colorado River water rights

A large California AI data center project is being sued over its request to draw 287 million gallons of Colorado River water, about 0.03% of the Imperial Valley's supply. Plaintiffs argue the project's water use is disproportionate to the jobs it would create relative to the farmland it displaces.

Why it matters: This adds to a pattern of local resistance to AI infrastructure's resource footprint, alongside recent noise-pollution suits in Michigan and gas-emissions fights in Texas. Water-rights disputes in the drought-prone Colorado River basin are especially contentious and could set a template for opposition to future data center siting across the US Southwest.