Addressing AI data center water usage by repurposing golf courses

Artificial intelligence data centers consume vast amounts of water to maintain their operations. In 2025, Google alone used 10.9 billion gallons of water, averaging approximately 30 million gallons per day. This high level of consumption has created significant pressure on hyperscalers to find more sustainable ways to manage their environmental footprint.

One proposed solution involves repurposing water-intensive golf courses to offset the usage of these data centers. In regions like the Coachella Valley, a single golf course requires about 750,000 gallons of water daily. By purchasing these properties and converting them into public parks, technology companies could theoretically reclaim enough water to support their infrastructure needs.

Converting roughly 40 golf courses in a high-demand area like the Coachella Valley would save enough water to match Google’s daily consumption. This strategy suggests that shifting land use away from recreational irrigation could provide a practical path toward balancing the massive water requirements of modern AI technology with local resource availability.