NARROWSBURG – While you may picture a data center as a large and looming structure taking up acres and acres of space, there are actually many different types of “data centers”—from small buildings to house telecommunications to the large looming ones hosting AI (artificial intelligence) computer systems.

Those large centers we typically think of are called “hyperscale”, owned by cloud service companies as the use of AI continues to rapidly rise. These centers typically require a lot of water to cool the systems, although some do not. 

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is looking to study the existing and proposed data centers located within the Delaware River Basin, an area of 13,539 square miles that encompasses New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and begins where the East Branch Delaware River and West Branch Delaware River meet in Hancock.

According to Amanda Khalil, a Water Resources Scientist with the DRBC, there are currently 66 existing data centers in the basin and 24 are proposed. 

“The DRBC has no approval or application for a data center at the moment,” Khalil said. “But we are trying to prepare for one when it comes, so we’re just trying to keep track of [it].” 

Khalil, who presented these findings to the Upper Delaware Council at its regular meeting on Tuesday night, said the DRBC identified data centers as an “emergent issue” in its recently released annual plan. 

The DRBC will host a free, public webinar on “Data Centers: What About Water?” on April 16, from 12-1 p.m. You must register online to attend the webinar and it is limited to 300 people, but it will be recorded. Visit www.nj.gov/drbc. 

How much water is used? 

To give context to how much water is withdrawn from the basin, both historically and today, Khalil said the total water withdrawals from the basin (ground and surface) amounted to 6,160 million gallons per day in 2024. 

The largest portion of withdrawals is for thermoelectric energy. The total amount has decreased over the years, going from approximately 10,000 million gallons per day in 2005 to 6,000 in 2024. Approximately 14 million people rely on water from the Delaware River Basin for their daily water needs.

Khalil said it’s difficult to project how much water will be used for data centers within the basin, given that national projections don’t correlate to this area, and that water supply utilities likely have non-disclosure agreements with data center developers. 

“It’s logical to see that the projected growth of data centers also results in a projected demand in power,” Khalil said. “It seems possible that our basin could see an increase in water withdrawal specifically for power generation to support data centers, even if those data centers aren’t within the basin boundary.” 

Can the DRBC regulate data centers?

According to a memo by the DRBC, the DRBC has the authority to review projects in the basin that may have a significant impact on water resources; but data centers obtaining their water use and/or discharge needs through existing water or wastewater utilities do not need direct approval from the DRBC.

Khalil said that all of the existing data centers are customers of public water suppliers, so they don’t fall under their jurisdiction.