Google's Chile data center plan faces water-use opposition
After ChatGPT launched in November 2022, a University of California paper estimated its training consumed 185,000 gallons of water. Researchers later warned that hyperscale data centers can draw 1‑5 million gallons daily, comparable to a city of 10,000‑50,000 people.
Key points
- Training the original ChatGPT model used an estimated 185,000 gallons of water (April 2023 study).
- Google’s proposed Cerrillos data center would consume 169 liters per second, equal to the annual drinking water of 80,000 residents.
- In Uruguay, Google’s planned Canelones site would use 2 million gallons of water daily for cooling.
In Chile, Google’s $200 million Cerrillos project was projected to use 169 liters of water each second—enough for 80,000 residents’ annual drinking supply. Residents formed MOSACAT, challenged the plan, and a December 2019 referendum saw 49% reject the project. Google later offered air‑conditioning cooling only. Similar opposition rose in Quilicura against a Microsoft data center, and in Uruguay where Google’s Canelones site would consume 2 million gallons per day. Brazil also sees massive data‑center builds, including a $10 billion TikTok‑linked facility in Fortaleza, despite frequent droughts.
These cases illustrate how AI‑driven data centers can strain local water resources, prompting community backlash and regulatory scrutiny worldwide.
Big Tech's thirst for water is sparking a global resistance
restofworld.org · 22 October 2026
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