Require Wisconsin Data Centers to Publicly Report Their Water Use
Require Wisconsin Data Centers to Publicly Report Their Water Use
The Issue
When an environmental group in Wisconsin asked the city of Racine how much water Microsoft's new data centers would use, they were turned away. They had to file a lawsuit just to get the information.
That's not how it should work in a state that sits on the edge of the Great Lakes — a resource that holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water.
Right now, Wisconsin has no law requiring data centers to report how much water they use. If a data center draws from a public water supply — and 97 percent of them do — the reporting obligation falls to the water utility, not the tech company. "As long as the water system has the capacity to supply, there's really no requirement to report on that water usage," said Helena Volzer, senior source water policy manager for the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Microsoft is investing $20 billion in data centers in Mount Pleasant, and is building more facilities across the state. The company says its Wisconsin data centers won't use enough water to trigger review under the Great Lakes Compact. But those numbers only count water used directly on-site. They don't count the water consumed by the power plants keeping the servers running. We Energies is adding 3 gigawatts of power — including new gas-fired plants — to meet data center demand. A Clean Wisconsin analysis estimated that powering data centers in Port Washington alone could require at least 54 million gallons of water daily if that energy comes from nonrenewable sources.
Wisconsin residents and communities near these facilities deserve to know the full picture before that water is gone.
We're calling on Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin State Legislature to pass mandatory water use reporting requirements for data centers — covering both on-site water consumption and the indirect water used to generate the power these facilities demand. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources already tracks water use across the state's largest industries. Data centers should be no different.
Sign this petition to demand Wisconsin require data centers to come clean about how much water they're really using.
225
The Issue
When an environmental group in Wisconsin asked the city of Racine how much water Microsoft's new data centers would use, they were turned away. They had to file a lawsuit just to get the information.
That's not how it should work in a state that sits on the edge of the Great Lakes — a resource that holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water.
Right now, Wisconsin has no law requiring data centers to report how much water they use. If a data center draws from a public water supply — and 97 percent of them do — the reporting obligation falls to the water utility, not the tech company. "As long as the water system has the capacity to supply, there's really no requirement to report on that water usage," said Helena Volzer, senior source water policy manager for the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Microsoft is investing $20 billion in data centers in Mount Pleasant, and is building more facilities across the state. The company says its Wisconsin data centers won't use enough water to trigger review under the Great Lakes Compact. But those numbers only count water used directly on-site. They don't count the water consumed by the power plants keeping the servers running. We Energies is adding 3 gigawatts of power — including new gas-fired plants — to meet data center demand. A Clean Wisconsin analysis estimated that powering data centers in Port Washington alone could require at least 54 million gallons of water daily if that energy comes from nonrenewable sources.
Wisconsin residents and communities near these facilities deserve to know the full picture before that water is gone.
We're calling on Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin State Legislature to pass mandatory water use reporting requirements for data centers — covering both on-site water consumption and the indirect water used to generate the power these facilities demand. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources already tracks water use across the state's largest industries. Data centers should be no different.
Sign this petition to demand Wisconsin require data centers to come clean about how much water they're really using.
225
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Petition created on May 27, 2026