The Water Economics Of Data Centers V. Almond Farms & Golf Courses

A recent Gallup poll shows that nearly 70% of Americans oppose the construction of a data center in their communities, highlighting the rise of local resistance movements against hyperscaler buildouts. This resistance is driven by concerns over skyrocketing power bills, the destruction of farmland as it is transformed into industrial-scale AI infrastructure, and fears that data centers will drain local resources, particularly water.

It's no surprise that data center resistance is only gaining steam and will likely accelerate from here, as tech bros on the All-In podcast recently sounded the alarm. This resistance is emerging not just as power bills explode and water scarcity fears mount, but also as corporate America unleashes the "white-collar purge," with human labor swapped for GPUs. Meta was the latest to announce rising AI adoption alongside a new round of layoffs.

Water has become a flashpoint in data center debates, as some of these facilities can use 5 million gallons of water every day, as much as 16,000-plus average U.S. households, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

There is also the extraordinary amount of power required to run the chip stacks, which consumes millions of additional gallons of water - more than the water used for cooling.

Hyperscalers are set to deploy $700 billion in capex this year to build out data centers and key AI infrastructure products, suggesting that local resistance nationwide will only continue to build as tech bros search for alternative options (low-Earth orbit and or residential backyards). Permitting denials and other issues may delay or block nearly half of data center projects this year.

However, on the subject of water, critics of data centers often fail to point out - especially in California - that agriculture also consumes a tremendous amount of water.

X user Smirkley compared the economics of a 5-gallon water-cooler jug, arguing that 5 gallons of water generates about $132 in economic output in data centers, but only about 2 cents in almonds.

Yet where is the outrage here?

Here is Smirkley's math:

• Data centers: $529.1 billion ÷ 20 billion gallons × 5 = $132.28 per 5 gallons
• California almonds: $5.66 billion ÷ 1.59 trillion gallons × 5 = 1.78 cents per 5 gallons

Smirkley's point is that AI infrastructure produces far more economic output per gallon than almonds.

Fine. Let me make it simple.

Almonds grown in the US use 80x more water than every American data center combined. This is the difference between an 8oz glass vs. a 5-gallon jug. pic.twitter.com/6NvR46klqJ

— Smirkley (@Smirkley) May 19, 2026

"Anti-data-center luddites may be worse than anti-nuclear activists. It is the same emotional panic, but even dumber somehow," the X user noted, adding, "Almonds grown in the U.S. use 80x more water than every American data center combined. This is the difference between an 8 oz. glass and a 5-gallon jug."

Honestly, fuck almonds pic.twitter.com/6PWXPKD8A7

— @jason (@Jason) May 14, 2026

"Data centers aren't stealing your water. Even if the total water draw of data centers triples by 2030, they'd require just 8% of the water consumed by American golf courses.@dodgeblake interviewed @AndyMasley, the man who's been debunking AI water doomerism," outlet Pirate Wires wrote on X. 

Data centers aren’t stealing your water.

Even if the total water draw of data centers triples by 2030, they’d require just 8% of the water consumed by American golf courses.@dodgeblake interviewed @AndyMasley, the man who’s been debunking AI water doomerism. Full story 👇 https://t.co/2paxx8rHeO pic.twitter.com/gDpDiwDOca

— Pirate Wires (@PirateWires) May 20, 2026

Where is the outrage for almonds and golf courses?