Click the link to read the article on the Glenwood Springs Post Independent website (Robert Tann). Here’s an excerpt:
February 27, 2026
Colorado lawmakers are asking themselves: Can they bring more data centers to the state while ensuring the power-hungry facilities don’t burden ratepayers and the environment? Dueling bills in the legislature both claim to have the answer. One would push Colorado to join the ranks of many other states that offer tax breaks to incentivize data centers — the backbone of today’s technology landscape. The other would impose more stringent regulations on the industry to protect consumers and the environment from potential harm. As the debate unfolds, some Western Slope leaders are raising concerns over what the push for data centers could mean for their communities’ most valuable resource — water…
Researchers say a large-scale data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day to cool down its systems. That’s enough water to serve a town of between 10,000 and 50,000 people daily, according to reporting by the Washington Post. If Colorado chooses to entice more of the thirsty facilities to set up shop, largely in metro areas, Western Slope leaders say that could mean more water being diverted from mountain communities in an era of severe drought…“We’ve struggled for a couple generations with the water of the Western Slope, which is where the water is in Colorado, moving eastward,” said Eagle County Commissioner Matt Scherr. “This is setting up even more fights with our Front Range friends than I think is necessary.”
This year’s record-low snowpack, growing drought concerns and unresolved Colorado River negotiations further punctuate that point, said Kristin Green, a water policy adviser for the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments Water Quality/Quantity Committee.
“Any kind of water use needs to be heavily scrutinized because of the dire straits we are in,” Green said.