A new Amazon report claims its data centers withdrew about 2.5 billion gallons of water globally in 2025, a figure that is dwarfed by the 117 trillion gallons withdrawn annually in the US alone. For context, US lawns and landscaping use 3.3 trillion gallons per year, California almond orchards use 1.3 trillion, and golf courses use 531 billion gallons.
Other tech giants report similar scales: Google used over 6.1 billion gallons in 2024, Microsoft about 2.75 billion, and Meta about 1.4 billion. Overall, AI data centers account for a minimal share of total water usage, though individual facilities can stress local supplies.
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