The Make Water Work Podcast - Episode 37: Data Centers Are Coming. Is Water Ready?

Episode 37: Data Centers Are Coming. Is Water Ready?

One data center operator hired over 100 people just to solve their water problem. Another operator of equal size hired two.

That gap tells you everything about where this industry is right now.

Data centers are the hottest topic in water. And over the past several months, we've collected five perspectives from guests who are thinking about this differently — from community planners to state regulators to investors to infrastructure economists. In this special compilation episode, host Isaac Pellerin brings those voices together for the first time.

Here's what's covered:

- Why water reuse is one of the most practical responses to data center growth and why climate makes it more urgent

- How to design the stakeholder table before a data center breaks ground and why economic development and water need to talk much earlier

- Why not all data centers are created equal and what that means for utilities negotiating leverage

- The difference between direct and indirect water use and why both matter for communities and utilities evaluating a new facility

- Where standardization stands right now and why 92% of last year's incremental GDP growth makes the answer critical

Five voices. Five angles. One of the most important conversations the water sector is having right now.