‘Water is for people!’: Voters across party lines push back against data centers ahead of the midterms

A data center is a large facility that houses the computers, storage equipment, and networks needed to store and process digital information. It matters because technology companies rely on these sites to keep internet services and artificial intelligence operating. The article describes them as essential infrastructure for modern digital life.

Inside, servers store data and perform computing tasks. Networks connect those servers to users and other systems, allowing information to move quickly. Data centers support services such as public transit fare readers and satellite networks. The article notes that facilities once resembled Walmart-sized buildings but can now exceed Manhattan’s area.

The United States already has 1,333 operating data centers. Another 2,359 are planned or under construction. Their importance is growing as data volumes and AI demands rise, but their huge electricity and water needs have also made them a focus of public opposition and election campaigns.

Residents oppose new data centers because they can place heavy demands on local resources and reshape rural or suburban communities. The main concerns vary by location. Water shortages, noise, air pollution, and higher electricity bills have all fueled resistance. Many residents also object to the scale of windowless facilities appearing near their homes.

In Santa Teresa, New Mexico, protesters carried signs saying, “Water is for humans, not data centers!” In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, residents brought banners to the state legislature. In Memphis, Tennessee, a county meeting about slowing construction ended in a fistfight between supporters and opponents. These conflicts show how intensely local the issue has become.

Opposition crosses party lines. Democrats and Republicans are both resisting projects, including many Trump supporters. The backlash has spread from Virginia to California and has turned data centers into a major political issue before the November 3 midterms.

The United States has 1,333 data centers already in operation. Another 2,359 facilities are in the planning or construction stages, according to market intelligence firm Cleanview. Together, those figures show an industry expanding far beyond a few technology hubs.

These facilities hold the equipment and data required to run internet services and artificial intelligence. Their size has grown dramatically. Early data centers were roughly the size of a Walmart, while newer projects can cover areas comparable to villages or even Manhattan. Hyperion, Meta’s planned megacenter in rural Louisiana, covers 3.5 square miles.

The large pipeline of projects is creating both economic expectations and public resistance. Residents worry about water, electricity, noise, pollution, and bills. In response, twenty states have approved measures pausing or banning construction, while seven more have pending measures. The numbers indicate that expansion remains substantial, despite growing political resistance.

Public resistance has moved from local meetings into state policy and national elections. Twenty states, ranging from strongly Democratic to deeply Republican, have approved measures to pause or ban new data centers. Seven additional states have measures pending. This bipartisan response reflects widespread concern over water, electricity, pollution, noise, and community change.

Texas illustrates the shift. Republican Governor Greg Abbott had promised to make Texas the “epicenter of AI development,” but the state has slowed construction amid polls suggesting movement toward Democrats. Ohio has also become a central battleground. Sixty-three percent of Ohio voters oppose data centers, making support for the industry a campaign vulnerability.

The issue now affects congressional control. More than $53 million has been spent on advertisements mentioning data centers in this year’s midterm races. Democratic and Republican candidates have attacked the industry, while President Donald Trump continues supporting it, warning projects could move to China.

Supporters present data centers as major engines of investment and economic growth. The article states that construction, infrastructure, and equipment for data centers are expected to generate $10.3 trillion in spending from 2025 through 2032. That equals an average of 3.63% of U.S. gross domestic product each year.

The economic mechanism is large-scale construction and continued spending on the systems that operate these facilities. Technology companies need buildings, power infrastructure, equipment, and other support systems. In Ohio, President Donald Trump argued that data centers could bring “so much money” to the state. Supporters therefore frame them as valuable national and local investments.

The article does not give a detailed breakdown of local benefits such as jobs or tax revenue. It does show that economic importance is substantial nationally, even as residents question who receives the gains and who pays for water, power, pollution, and other impacts. That tension drives the political debate.

Data centers need electricity because their servers and other systems continuously store, process, and move vast amounts of digital information. Artificial intelligence and internet services require powerful computing equipment. The article describes these facilities as devouring electricity to power their systems, especially as data volumes and AI demands continue growing.

They need water mainly for cooling. Computer equipment produces heat while operating, so cooling systems remove that heat and help the machines continue working. The article specifically identifies water as a resource used to cool data centers. This creates concern in places where residents believe limited water should prioritize human needs.

The scale makes the impact more visible. Hyperion, Meta’s megacenter in rural Louisiana, covers 3.5 square miles, or more than 1,260 football fields. Across the country, thousands of existing and proposed facilities multiply these demands. That is why water and electricity have become central to opposition and policy debates.

Servers are powerful computers that store data and perform tasks requested by users or other systems. Networks connect those servers with phones, computers, businesses, and other data centers. Cooling systems remove the heat produced by the hardware. Together, these parts form the physical foundation for internet services and artificial intelligence.

For example, when someone streams media, shops online, uses social media, or sends an AI request, a network carries the request to computing systems. Servers find or generate the needed information, then networks carry the response back. Cooling keeps the equipment within safe operating conditions. The article directly identifies data centers as housing the equipment and data needed for internet and AI services.

The article does not describe each service’s technical sequence in detail; this explanation uses standard computing knowledge. It does show the expanding scale behind those services: 1,333 U.S. facilities already operate, with 2,359 more planned or under construction. That growth intensifies resource and political concerns.