Microsoft insists its $20 billion Great Lakes data centers will not come close to water-use trigger

Promises of an artificial intelligence boom tend to focus on computing power and energy. In the Great Lakes region, though, the questions naturally turn to the significant water usage to power and cool the tech.

What happened?

As Wisconsin Public Radio reports, the issue is intensifying after Microsoft said its major new data centers in the region are expected to stay well below a key water-use threshold that would trigger additional scrutiny.

During a panel, Microsoft official Jonathan Noble indicated that the company’s Great Lakes-region facilities are expected to stay under the Great Lakes Compact level that can prompt additional regional review, as WPR reported.

Under the compact, when a project is projected to lose 5 million gallons of water a day over a 90-day period, the system jumps into action.

Microsoft is investing $20 billion in data centers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, while also building campuses in Michigan and Indiana, according to WPR. The Great Lakes Compact largely…