Residents are competing with data centers for water resources? Australia's AI construction frenzy reveals a water resource crisis.

The Australian government did not require data centers to develop quantifiable water-saving plans when approving their construction, which has raised concerns that the rapid growth of the industry will lead to residents being caught in a water resource battle. Documents show that since expanding planning permissions in 2021, the New South Wales government, which oversees Australia's largest city, has approved all 10 data center construction applications, including those from Microsoft, Amazon, and AirTrunk under the Blackstone Group. These centers will bring a total of $6.6 billion in construction spending, but will ultimately consume up to 9.6 billion liters of clean water annually, nearly 2% of Sydney's largest water supply capacity.