Question Board — Siting and Supply
The questions that would actually move this case, each phrased so that a document could answer it.
Q1 — Basins
Are the largest AI campuses being built in basins already classified as water-stressed? Answerable from a site list cross-referenced against official drought and aquifer status.
Q2 — Supply type
For each major campus, is cooling water potable municipal supply, reclaimed non-potable supply, or groundwater? Answerable from utility agreements and permits.
Q3 — Withdrawal vs consumption
What are the actual withdrawal and consumption figures, reported separately, for a named site over a full year? Rarely published; sometimes obtainable from water district records.
Q4 — Does new cooling actually reduce freshwater dependence?
Measured, not announced: does a deployed closed-loop site show a reduced total footprint once the additional electricity and its embedded water are counted?
Q5 — Conflict
Where have local allocation disputes, moratoria or permit refusals actually occurred, and what did the deciding body give as its reason? Answerable from council minutes and permit decisions.
Q6 — Disclosure
Which operators publish site-level rather than fleet-level water data, and on what methodology? Fleet averages can conceal a stressed site inside a comfortable mean.