Amazon's data centers pulled 2.5 billion gallons of water from local supplies last year. That's the same amount a city of 50,000 people would use in a year. The figure underscores a growing tension: the AI boom demands enormous compute power, and that power needs cooling—lots of water.
What the water bill buys
Data centers run hot. The servers that train and run large language models generate enough heat to require constant cooling. Many facilities rely on evaporative cooling, which consumes massive amounts of water. Amazon's 2.5-billion-gallon tally for 2025 covers its entire global fleet of data centers, though the company hasn't broken down the number by region.
The AI buildout shows no sign of slowing. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google have announced billions in new data center spending, much of it tied to AI workloads. That means water demand isn't likely to peak anytime soon.
Regulatory pressure mounts
Local governments and environmental regulators have started paying close attention. Several states have tightened rules on industrial water withdrawals, and data centers are increasingly in the crosshairs. In drought-prone areas, a single facility can use as much water as a small town. Regulators in Oregon and Arizona, for example, have demanded impact studies before approving new construction. The 2.5 billion gallon figure will only intensify those conversations.
The strain isn't just about quantity. Water discharged from cooling towers is often warmer than the source, affecting local aquatic life. Some jurisdictions now require data centers to recycle cooling water or switch to less thirsty technologies, such as liquid immersion cooling or reclaimed water systems.
Amazon's water strategy
Amazon has publicly committed to being water positive by 2030—meaning it intends to return more water to communities than its operations consume. But that target was set before the AI boom exploded. The 2025 water withdrawal number shows the company's consumption is still climbing, not falling. To hit its goal, Amazon will need to either slow data center expansion or invest heavily in water replenishment projects, such as restoring wetlands or funding municipal water efficiency programs.
The company has experimented with alternative cooling methods at some newer facilities. But retrofitting older data centers is expensive, and the pace of new construction leaves little time to phase in improvements.
The next test comes later this year, when several state regulators are expected to release updated water use reports that will show whether Amazon is making progress. Those numbers will determine how much room the company has to keep growing—and how much pushback it faces.
