1. Data center water use is an emerging planning concern. Staff estimated that Santa Clara County has 92 standalone data center facilities and described the county as second only to Loudoun County, Virginia, in its number of data centers. Commissioners noted that the local count excludes smaller in-house facilities. Data centers are included in the commercial, industrial and institutional (CII) sector, whose water use has remained stable in recent years. The sector accounts for about 26% of county use, down from a 30% share in an earlier water supply plan. Commissioner Daly suggested that conservation elsewhere in the sector could be offsetting growth in data center use; staff said that was possible but could not confirm it. Daly also warned that developers’ water-use forecasts can be off by roughly a factor of three. Staff identified extended droughts as the biggest challenge to long-term supply reliability.
2. Recycled water has competing potential uses. Staff encouraged recycled water for data center cooling but cautioned that the supply is finite. Valley Water is pursuing a potable reuse project as part of long-term supply planning. Staff said that if overall recycled-water use grows sufficiently, the project might no longer be viable. Vice Chair Rennie noted that parts of the West Valley lack a recycled-water pipeline network; staff said extending service to a data center there may not be realistic. Separately, a South County recycled-water infrastructure expansion planned under a 2015 master plan is expected to be completed in 2027. Gilroy is requiring Amazon to pay for upgrades to bring recycled water to its proposed data center.
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