WATER RISK GUIDES
Groundwater, water scarcity and data center water risk — explained with sources
Groundwater is the water supply most people never see and most risk models ignore. These guides explain how aquifers are depleting, how much water AI data centers really use, how contamination moves underground, and how to judge whether a site has the water it needs — each one built on primary sources from USGS, EPA, national labs and state water agencies.
DATA CENTERS AND WATER
AI DATA CENTER WATER RISK
How much water do AI data centers use? Data center water risk, explained
How much water AI data centers consume, where it comes from, why siting in water-stressed regions matters, and how to assess a site’s long-term water risk.
Updated
DATA CENTER SITING
Data center site selection: a groundwater availability due-diligence checklist
A step-by-step checklist for judging whether the aquifer under a proposed data center can supply its cooling water for 20–30 years — yield, drawdown, interference and permits.
Updated
DATA CENTER COOLING
Data center cooling and water: evaporative vs. closed-loop cooling and WUE, explained
How data center cooling systems use water — evaporative towers, adiabatic coolers, closed-loop and liquid cooling — what water usage effectiveness (WUE) measures, and the water–energy trade-off behind each design.
Updated
TEXAS DATA CENTER WATER
Texas data centers and water: how much they use, where it comes from, and the risks
How much water Texas data centers use, which aquifers and utilities supply them, how groundwater rules and drought shape the risk, and what to check before siting a data center in Texas.
Updated
ARIZONA WATER
Arizona groundwater and data centers: assured water supply, AMAs and Colorado River cuts
How Arizona manages groundwater — Active Management Areas, the 100-year assured water supply rule, the Phoenix AMA model — and what Colorado River cuts and data center growth mean for water availability.
Updated
AQUIFERS, DEPLETION AND SCARCITY
GROUNDWATER DEPLETION
Groundwater depletion in the United States: causes, hotspots and how it is measured
What groundwater depletion is, how much the U.S. has lost, where aquifers like the Ogallala are declining fastest, and what falling water tables mean for wells, land and water supply.
Updated
WATER SCARCITY
Water scarcity in the United States: where the water problems are and why they are growing
Where U.S. water problems are most acute, what drives water stress — drought, groundwater depletion, growth and new demand like data centers — and how to read water risk for a site.
Updated
OGALLALA AQUIFER
The Ogallala aquifer: how fast it is declining, where, and what it means
Ogallala (High Plains) aquifer depletion explained — how much water has been lost, which areas are declining fastest, why recharge cannot keep up, and what it means for farms, towns and new water users.
Updated
EDWARDS AQUIFER
The Edwards Aquifer: J-17 levels, drought stages and pumping limits, explained
How the Edwards Aquifer works, why it reacts so fast to drought, what the J-17 index well measures, and how Edwards Aquifer Authority stages cut permitted pumping by 20–44%.
Updated
LAND SUBSIDENCE
Houston land subsidence and the Gulf Coast aquifer: causes, history and groundwater rules
Why the Houston–Galveston region sank as much as 9 feet, how pumping the Gulf Coast aquifer causes permanent subsidence, and how subsidence districts now limit groundwater use.
Updated
SALTWATER INTRUSION
Saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers: causes, warning signs and how it is managed
How pumping, drainage and sea-level rise draw seawater into coastal aquifers, where it is happening in the U.S., how to detect it, and how utilities and regulators push it back.
Updated
WELL DRAWDOWN
Cone of depression, drawdown and well interference, explained
What a cone of depression is, how drawdown spreads from a pumping well, why neighboring wells interfere, and how the Theis equation is used to predict it.
Updated
GROUNDWATER LAW, LAND AND LENDING
CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER
California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), explained
What California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires — groundwater sustainability agencies and plans, 2040/2042 deadlines, state intervention — and what it means for farms, land values and new water users.
Updated
AGRICULTURAL LENDING
Farmland water risk: groundwater due diligence for agricultural lending and land value
How groundwater availability drives irrigated farmland value and loan risk, what lenders and buyers should check — saturated thickness, well yields, decline rates, district rules — and how to estimate years of irrigation left.
Updated
TEXAS GROUNDWATER
Texas groundwater: the rule of capture, groundwater conservation districts and water availability
How groundwater law works in Texas — rule of capture, groundwater conservation districts, desired future conditions — and what it means for wells, land and new water demand.
Updated
TEXAS DEVELOPMENT
Texas groundwater availability certification for subdivisions (SB 2440), explained
What Texas developers need to know about groundwater availability certification for plats: SB 2440, 30 TAC Chapter 230, who can certify, the waivers, and how to show adequate groundwater for a subdivision.
Updated
CONTAMINATION AND DUE DILIGENCE
PFAS CONTAMINATION
PFAS in groundwater: EPA drinking water limits, sources and how PFAS plumes behave
PFAS “forever chemicals” in groundwater: EPA’s 2024 drinking water limits expressed in mg/L, the 2025 changes, common sources, and why PFAS plumes travel so far.
Updated
CONTAMINATION PLUMES
How groundwater contamination plumes move — and how to forecast them
How contaminant plumes form and travel in groundwater — advection, dispersion, sorption and biodegradation — why petroleum plumes stabilize, and how plume forecasting supports closure.
Updated
NITRATE CONTAMINATION
Nitrate in groundwater: the 10 mg/L standard, agricultural sources and well risk
Why nitrate is one of the most widespread groundwater contaminants, what the 10 mg/L drinking water standard means, how fertilizer, manure and septic systems drive it, and which wells are most at risk.
Updated
ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE
Groundwater contamination due diligence: Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments
How Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments uncover groundwater contamination before a property deal — ASTM E1527-21, All Appropriate Inquiries, RECs, and what happens when a plume is found.
Updated