What does "water pressure" mean here?

Water pressure is the inverse of a planning-model score that combines modeled compliance stress (50%), current drought stress (30%), and the county industrial-withdrawal percentile (20%). Higher values indicate more modeled pressure. It is not a site-capacity or siting decision.

Which counties have the most data centers in this dataset?

Northern Virginia (led by Loudoun County) holds the densest mapped concentration by facility count, followed by major markets in Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Georgia. AWS accounts for the most mapped facilities nationally, ahead of Google, Microsoft, and Meta.

Where does the facility data come from?

The facility layer combines EPA ECHO active-facility records, EPA Clean Water Act permit records, OpenStreetMap data center features, and the IM3 Open Source Data Center Atlas (DOE/PNNL), all geocoded to county FIPS. Capacity estimates and industrial water baselines come from IM3 and USGS 2020 water-use data.

Is this a facility-level water-use audit?

No. DCWSI and water pressure are county-level screening metrics for journalists, researchers, and residents. They do not prove consumptive use, water rights, or utility-specific constraints for any single facility. Treat them as a first pass, then verify locally.

Data centers and water, by county

Where the data center build-out meets America's water limits.

The AI build-out is adding gigawatts of cooling demand county by county. This atlas maps every US county where mapped data centers overlap water-system pressure, scores the modeled pressure inputs for each county, and lets you compare a hypothetical load against those county-level inputs.

Explore the map Model a build Share

Counties with data centers: 330; 2,147 facilities mapped
Mapped capacity: 166.02 GW; across 229 counties (IM3 Atlas)
Constrained markets: 212; host mapped facilities outside the model’s lowest-pressure tier
Water pressure range: 7–97; national median 41.9 of 100

Where growth meets constraint

The collision is already here.

The atlas highlights overlap between mapped facility density and modeled water pressure. Loudoun County, Virginia has the highest combined DCWSI value in the current dataset.

Loudoun County has modeled compliance stress is moderate, current drought stress is moderate, and recorded industrial withdrawals are 2 MGD (81st percentile), providing existing demand and capacity context.

Loudoun County

Virginia

Moderate pressure

Facilities: 282
Mapped MW: 11.73 GW
Water pressure: 29

The national picture

Two ways to read the map

Toggle between water pressure (how hard new large-load demand would press on a county's water) and the build-out index (DCWSI, where data-center density meets modeled compliance stress). Hover or select a county to inspect the current atlas values.

Loading map data…

Water pressure is shaded for every US county; the build-out index is shaded for the 318 counties with both mapped facilities and a water-stress score. Tiles via the ByCounty network PMTiles layer.

National water pressure

Most counties have room. The spread is the story.

On a 0-100 water pressure scale (higher means more strain), counties cluster between 7 and 97, with a median of 41.9. No county reaches high water pressure today. What matters is the gap between the calmest and the most strained, because that gap is where new gigawatts of demand will be felt first.

DCWSI, the build-out pressure score, is a separate lens: 60% modeled compliance stress plus 40% data center density percentile, normalized to 0-100.

Low pressure The model places these counties in its lowest water-pressure tier.: 50816.7% of counties
Moderate pressure The model places these counties in its moderate water-pressure tier.: 1,42046.7% of counties
High pressure The model places these counties in its high water-pressure tier.: 94030.9% of counties
Severe pressure The model places these counties in its highest water-pressure tier.: 1745.7% of counties

Highest water pressure, most data centers

Facility counties carrying the most water pressure. These are the markets where new demand would press hardest against existing uses.

Richland Parish, LA

1 facilitiesMeta

Severe pressure

Wilbarger County, TX

1 facilities

High pressure

Granite County, MT

1 facilities0 MW

High pressure

Milam County, TX

1 facilities872 MW

High pressure

Jones County, TX

1 facilities

High pressure

Valencia County, NM

7 facilities4.97 GWMeta

High pressure

Lowest water pressure, real clusters

Active data center counties with the lowest modeled water-pressure values in the current dataset.

Niagara County, NY

7 facilities16 MWUS Bitcoin

Low pressure

Cuyahoga County, OH

5 facilities269 MWT5 Data Centers

Low pressure

Hennepin County, MN

11 facilities51 MWDataBank

Low pressure

Davidson County, TN

10 facilities59 MWEdgeConneX

Low pressure

Sumner County, TN

5 facilities3.78 GWMeta

Low pressure

San Francisco County, CA

9 facilities36 MWAWS

Low pressure

Who is building where

Hyperscaler concentration

Mapped facilities attributed to a named operator, across the EPA and OpenStreetMap layers. Counts are mapped footprint, not total fleet size.

AWS

32027 counties

Google

8522 counties

Microsoft

8419 counties

Model a data center water budget

Size a hypothetical facility, pick a cooling type, and see the estimated daily water draw against a real county industrial baseline. Useful for a first-pass feasibility read before you talk to a utility.

Model a build in a real market

Data Center Water Budget Calculator

Estimate daily water use for a hypothetical facility in Loudoun County, VA.

Facility size: 100 MW

1 MW1,000 MW

Cooling type

Utilization: 70%

40%100%

799K gallons/dayHigh Impact

Your facility would use 40.8% of this county's industrial water baseline. Verify water rights and long-term drought projections before committing.

40.8% of county industrial baseline1.16 Mgal/day remaining headroom

Based on USGS 2020 water-use data and EPA-standard cooling intensity constants. Not a substitute for site-specific water rights analysis.

Every facility county

The full ranking

Sources and limitations

County	Water pressure
Valencia County, NM Meta	High pressure	84.6	7	4.97 GW	70	87.3
Wasco County, OR Google	High pressure	82.1	6	518 MW	55	86.1
Reeves County, TX	High pressure	79.8	8	—	68	77.4
Morrow County, OR AWS	Moderate pressure	79.5	38	1.04 GW	43	68.1
Louisa County, VA AWS	High pressure	75.7	3	—	59	85.5
Muskogee County, OK	High pressure	75.1	2	22 MW	70	95.2
Crook County, OR Meta	Moderate pressure	72.7	13	7.36 GW	42	61.6
Washoe County, NV	Moderate pressure	71.2	13	235 MW	33	59.1
Navarro County, TX	High pressure	71.2	4	2.34 GW	60	73.5
Grant County, WA Microsoft	Moderate pressure	70.8	38	5.35 GW	36	53.6
Bernalillo County, NM bigbyte.cc	Moderate pressure	70.6	11	45 MW	47	59.3
Angelina County, TX	High pressure	70.3	2	3 MW	69	87.2
Laramie County, WY Microsoft	High pressure	70.1	22	4.35 GW	51	54.4
Baltimore County, MD Expedient	High pressure	68.6	2	—	53	84.3
Umatilla County, OR AWS	Moderate pressure	68.3	29	889 MW	45	50.1
Rockingham County, NH Phillips Exeter Academy	Moderate pressure	68.2	4	3 MW	44	68.5
Sarpy County, NE Google	Moderate pressure	63.9	22	4.84 GW	32	44.1
Rutherford County, NC Meta	Moderate pressure	62.4	6	1.13 GW	49	53.3
Jackson County, AL Google	Moderate pressure	61.4	4	1.57 GW	39	57.1
Dakota County, MN Meta	Moderate pressure	60.8	6	2.19 GW	27	50.7
Licking County, OH AWS	Low pressure	60.4	38	6.51 GW	24	36.2
Dallas County, IA Microsoft	Moderate pressure	60.4	10	349 MW	29	43.1
El Paso County, CO SAP	Moderate pressure	60.4	7	77 MW	31	47.0
Berkeley County, SC Google	Moderate pressure	60.0	11	2.09 GW	38	41.7
Granite County, MT	High pressure	59.6	1	0 MW	71	99.3
Clark County, NV Google	Low pressure	59.5	26	1.06 GW	22	36.2
Santa Clara County, CA AWS	Low pressure	59.4	95	1.03 GW	19	32.6
Loudoun County, VA AWS	Moderate pressure	58.9	282	11.73 GW	29	31.5
Ellis County, TX Google	Moderate pressure	58.8	18	680 MW	30	36.4
Ector County, TX	Moderate pressure	58.8	2	—	48	68.0
Maricopa County, AZ Google	Low pressure	58.7	79	8.69 GW	21	31.8
Travis County, TX Meta	Moderate pressure	58.7	17	425 MW	43	36.7
Middlesex County, NJ Barclays	Moderate pressure	58.6	15	493 MW	29	37.4
Mayes County, OK	High pressure	58.6	2	—	60	67.6
Douglas County, CO Equinix	Moderate pressure	58.5	8	45 MW	40	42.0
Prince William County, VA AWS	Moderate pressure	58.4	85	2.42 GW	32	31.0
Washington County, OR Oracle	Low pressure	58.4	39	789 MW	20	32.2
Wilbarger County, TX	High pressure	57.7	1	—	74	96.1
Bexar County, TX AWS	Moderate pressure	57.3	42	1.04 GW	41	30.2
Union County, OH AWS	Low pressure	57.2	9	295 MW	24	38.4
Fulton County, GA Google	Moderate pressure	57.1	27	800 MW	32	31.8
Rockland County, NY Bloomberg	Moderate pressure	57.1	4	159 MW	36	49.9
Franklin County, OH AWS	Low pressure	57.0	42	8.42 GW	19	29.7
Platte County, MO	Moderate pressure	56.7	8	2.80 GW	33	38.9
Catawba County, NC Microsoft	Moderate pressure	56.7	8	1.28 GW	38	38.9
Clay County, MO Meta	Moderate pressure	56.6	5	2.89 GW	28	46.0
Albany County, NY Lumen Technologies	Moderate pressure	56.6	3	5 MW	29	53.6
Cook County, IL Microsoft	Low pressure	56.4	43	1.19 GW	15	28.3
Los Angeles County, CA AWS	Low pressure	56.2	19	120 MW	16	31.5
Polk County, IA Meta	Low pressure	55.7	35	8.68 GW	22	28.5
Richland Parish, LA Meta	Severe pressure	55.4	1	—	76	92.3
Middlesex County, MA AWS	Moderate pressure	55.0	16	52 MW	25	30.7
Dallas County, TX CoreSpace	Low pressure	54.9	27	488 MW	20	28.1
Madison County, MS AWS	Moderate pressure	54.9	6	3.32 GW	38	40.9
DuPage County, IL Centersquare	Low pressure	54.7	26	381 MW	16	28.1
Collin County, TX Aligned Data Centers	Low pressure	54.5	18	441 MW	25	29.3
Pershing County, NV Google	High pressure	54.5	1	—	68	90.8
Tarrant County, TX AWS	Low pressure	54.3	11	563 MW	21	32.2
Passaic County, NJ CyrusOne	Moderate pressure	54.1	5	48 MW	40	41.7
San Diego County, CA American Telephone & Telegraph	Low pressure	54.1	5	45 MW	22	41.7
Cumberland County, ME FirstLight	Moderate pressure	54.1	3	11 MW	45	49.5
Utah County, UT Meta	Moderate pressure	53.9	7	5.00 GW	32	36.2
Wake County, NC Flexential	Moderate pressure	53.9	4	39 MW	41	44.6
Jones County, TX	High pressure	53.9	1	—	71	89.8
Hudson County, NJ Centersquare	Moderate pressure	53.8	18	595 MW	28	28.1
Tulsa County, OK	Moderate pressure	53.8	12	85 MW	29	30.2
Denali Borough, AK	No verdict	53.8	1	—	—	89.7
Arapahoe County, CO AWS	Moderate pressure	53.7	15	102 MW	31	29.3
Marquette County, WI	High pressure	53.6	1	2 MW	54	89.3
Montgomery County, TN Google	Moderate pressure	53.4	6	5.46 GW	28	38.4
King County, WA Equinix	Low pressure	53.1	15	194 MW	18	28.3
Fauquier County, VA AWS	Moderate pressure	52.2	6	51 MW	32	36.4
Bryan County, OK Choctaw Nation of oklahoma	High pressure	52.2	1	3 MW	62	87.0
Morgan County, WV	High pressure	52.2	1	—	65	87.0
Montgomery County, PA Flexential	Low pressure	51.7	9	42 MW	22	29.3
Alameda County, CA AWS	Low pressure	51.6	11	56 MW	16	27.7
Johnson County, KS DataBank	Low pressure	51.6	10	111 MW	21	28.5
Santa Fe County, NM SONM	High pressure	51.4	1	6 MW	58	85.6
Montgomery County, TX	Moderate pressure	51.2	2	25 MW	44	55.3
Williamson County, TN Flexential	Moderate pressure	51.1	7	453 MW	28	31.5
Fayette County, GA Quality Technology Services	Moderate pressure	51.1	5	114 MW	42	36.7
Newton County, GA Meta	Moderate pressure	51.1	4	2.16 GW	45	39.9
Ada County, ID Meta	Moderate pressure	51.1	4	3.33 GW	28	39.9
DeKalb County, IL Meta	Moderate pressure	51.1	4	2.85 GW	31	39.9
Rankin County, MS	Moderate pressure	51.1	2	—	42	55.2
Custer County, MT State of Montana	High pressure	51.1	1	2 MW	57	85.2
Harris County, TX DXC Technology	Moderate pressure	51.0	6	240 MW	30	34.4
Hillsborough County, NH	Moderate pressure	50.9	2	—	32	54.9
Benton County, AR	Moderate pressure	50.9	2	—	48	54.8
Napa County, CA	Moderate pressure	50.9	2	33 MW	29	54.8
Sacramento County, CA EdgeConneX	Low pressure	50.6	7	134 MW	17	30.7
Caldwell County, MO	High pressure	50.3	1	0 MW	62	83.8
Salt Lake County, UT Flexential	Low pressure	50.2	8	93 MW	23	28.1
Luzerne County, PA AWS	Moderate pressure	49.7	2	—	37	52.8
Anne Arundel County, MD AWS	Moderate pressure	49.3	6	25 MW	27	31.5
Clark County, OH	Moderate pressure	49.3	2	16 MW	31	52.1
Armstrong County, TX	High pressure	49.0	1	—	70	81.6
Cochise County, AZ DirecTV	High pressure	48.5	1	2 MW	52	80.9
Oakland County, MI EdgeConneX	Low pressure	48.2	4	8 MW	20	35.2
Racine County, WI Microsoft	Low pressure	48.0	3	2 MW	25	39.3
Fairfax County, VA AWS	Low pressure	47.8	50	414 MW	25	13.8
Fairfield County, OH Google	Low pressure	47.8	4	58 MW	23	34.4
Culpeper County, VA AWS	Moderate pressure	47.7	3	260 MW	38	38.7
Adams County, CO Google	Moderate pressure	47.5	3	17 MW	35	38.4
Sequoyah County, OK	High pressure	47.5	1	—	58	79.1
Baltimore city, MD AiNET	Moderate pressure	47.3	6	7 MW	28	28.1
Marion County, OR CenturyLink	Moderate pressure	47.3	2	14 MW	30	48.8
Ford County, KS	Moderate pressure	47.2	1	—	42	78.6
Denver County, CO CoreSite	Moderate pressure	47.0	6	14 MW	40	27.7
Madison County, ID	High pressure	47.0	1	4 MW	58	78.4
Henrico County, VA Meta	Low pressure	46.7	34	2.45 GW	13	13.8
Columbia County, WI	Moderate pressure	46.6	1	0 MW	46	77.6
Miami-Dade County, FL	Moderate pressure	46.3	5	28 MW	38	28.8
Prince George's County, MD	Moderate pressure	46.3	2	9 MW	41	47.1
Milam County, TX	High pressure	46.3	1	872 MW	71	77.1
Essex County, NJ Tishman	Moderate pressure	46.2	3	39 MW	30	36.2
Eaton County, MI	Moderate pressure	46.1	2	19 MW	31	46.8
Pottawattamie County, IA Google	Low pressure	46.0	24	1.18 GW	18	13.8
Jackson County, OR Data Center West, Inc.	Moderate pressure	45.8	1	—	44	76.3
Mecklenburg County, NC Flexential	Moderate pressure	45.7	5	54 MW	33	27.7
San Luis Obispo County, CA	Moderate pressure	45.7	1	—	40	76.2
Pierce County, WA	Low pressure	45.4	3	412 MW	22	34.9
Northampton County, PA	Moderate pressure	45.4	2	—	39	45.7
Hillsborough County, FL Cyxtera	Moderate pressure	45.2	4	26 MW	36	30.2
Multnomah County, OR Digital Fortress, Inc	Low pressure	45.2	4	8 MW	21	30.2
Allegheny County, PA DataBank	Low pressure	45.1	3	17 MW	17	34.4
Bell County, TX	Moderate pressure	45.1	3	—	31	34.4
Douglas County, NE Google	Low pressure	45.0	17	4.52 GW	17	13.8
Dodge County, WI Meta	Moderate pressure	45.0	1	3.65 GW	43	75.0
Warren County, OH CyrusOne	Low pressure	44.8	3	56 MW	19	33.9
Wayne County, MI Comcast	Low pressure	44.7	4	19 MW	18	29.3
Chelan County, WA	Moderate pressure	44.7	3	145 MW	27	33.7
Ogle County, IL	Moderate pressure	44.6	2	—	37	44.3
Dickey County, ND Applied Digital	High pressure	44.5	1	541 MW	51	74.1
Somerset County, NJ CyrusOne	Low pressure	44.4	15	363 MW	21	13.8
Worcester County, MA	Moderate pressure	44.3	3	—	26	33.1
Douglas County, WA Microsoft	Moderate pressure	44.0	13	914 MW	26	13.8
Lehigh County, PA TierPoint	Moderate pressure	44.0	3	39 MW	34	32.6
Spokane County, WA Iron Mountain	Moderate pressure	44.0	3	11 MW	26	32.6
Orange County, NY	Moderate pressure	43.9	1	—	49	73.2
Snohomish County, WA Centersquare	Low pressure	43.7	4	26 MW	20	27.7
Jefferson County, AL	Low pressure	43.7	4	133 MW	20	27.7
Westchester County, NY	Moderate pressure	43.7	1	3 MW	42	72.9
Caldwell County, NC Google	Moderate pressure	43.6	2	681 MW	40	42.7
Waukesha County, WI WE Energies	Moderate pressure	43.4	1	9 MW	40	72.4
Hennepin County, MN DataBank	Low pressure	43.3	11	51 MW	8	13.8
St. Joseph County, IN AWS	Low pressure	43.2	3	—	17	31.2
Grafton County, NH	High pressure	43.0	1	—	51	71.7
Broomfield County, CO Oracle	High pressure	42.9	3	38 MW	50	30.7
Davidson County, TN EdgeConneX	Low pressure	42.8	10	59 MW	9	13.8
Mecklenburg County, VA Microsoft	Moderate pressure	42.8	10	2.25 GW	34	13.8
Stutsman County, ND	Moderate pressure	42.5	2	—	29	40.9
San Francisco County, CA AWS	Low pressure	42.4	9	36 MW	11	13.8
Crittenden County, AR	High pressure	42.4	1	—	56	70.7
Orange County, FL CoreSite	Moderate pressure	42.3	3	23 MW	27	29.7
McDonald County, MO	High pressure	42.3	1	—	60	70.5
DeSoto County, MS xAI	Moderate pressure	42.2	2	163 MW	33	40.4
Deschutes County, OR Fort Rock Data Center	Moderate pressure	41.9	2	2 MW	25	39.9
Douglas County, GA Google	Moderate pressure	41.6	8	774 MW	32	13.8
Chesterfield County, VA Digital Fortress	Low pressure	41.6	8	—	12	13.8
Durham County, NC Duke Libraries	Moderate pressure	41.4	3	—	37	28.3
Cleveland County, NC T5 Data Centers	Moderate pressure	41.4	2	76 MW	44	39.0
Milwaukee County, WI Potawatomi Business Development Corporation	Low pressure	41.1	3	5 MW	19	27.7
Orange County, CA AWS	Low pressure	41.1	3	25 MW	15	27.7
Oklahoma County, OK	Moderate pressure	41.0	2	—	40	38.4
Monroe County, OH	Moderate pressure	40.8	1	—	45	68.0
Lane County, OR Data Center West, Inc.	Moderate pressure	40.7	1	—	41	67.9
Warren County, IA Microsoft	Low pressure	40.5	7	982 MW	20	13.8
Niagara County, NY US Bitcoin	Low pressure	40.5	7	16 MW	7	13.8
Madison County, AL Meta	Low pressure	40.5	7	3.25 GW	20	13.8
Barber County, KS SC	High pressure	40.4	1	—	54	67.3
Dane County, WI Lumen Technologies	Moderate pressure	39.5	2	2 MW	25	35.9
Tippecanoe County, IN	Moderate pressure	39.3	2	—	42	35.5
Frederick County, MD	Moderate pressure	38.8	2	13 MW	28	34.6
New Castle County, DE	Low pressure	38.7	6	—	12	13.8
Montgomery County, MD Lincoln Rackhouse	Low pressure	38.7	6	29 MW	21	13.8
Storey County, NV Switch	Low pressure	38.7	6	263 MW	20	13.8
Shelby County, TN xAI	Low pressure	38.7	6	348 MW	16	13.8
LaPorte County, IN	Moderate pressure	38.6	1	—	36	64.4
Denton County, TX	Low pressure	38.3	2	64 MW	25	33.9
Mercer County, NJ	Moderate pressure	38.1	2	—	30	33.5
Erie County, NY	Low pressure	37.9	2	8 MW	17	33.1
Summit County, OH	Low pressure	37.9	2	12 MW	20	33.1
Hood County, TX Marathon Digital Holdings	Moderate pressure	37.8	1	354 MW	47	63.0
Gwinnett County, GA Flexential	Low pressure	37.3	5	431 MW	20	13.8
Jackson County, MO Patmos Hosting, Inc.	Low pressure	37.3	5	—	12	13.8
Cuyahoga County, OH T5 Data Centers	Low pressure	37.3	5	269 MW	7	13.8
Philadelphia County, PA Equinix	Low pressure	37.3	5	24 MW	15	13.8
Sumner County, TN Meta	Low pressure	37.3	5	3.78 GW	10	13.8
Mahoning County, OH	Low pressure	37.3	2	15 MW	24	32.2
Floyd County, KY	High pressure	37.1	1	3 MW	51	61.9
King George County, VA	High pressure	37.1	1	—	60	61.9
Cass County, ND	Low pressure	36.7	2	5 MW	22	31.2
Strafford County, NH University of New Hampshire	High pressure	36.7	1	6 MW	51	61.1
Carver County, MN Flexential	Low pressure	36.6	2	27 MW	21	31.0
Dunn County, WI West Wisconsin Telcom	Moderate pressure	36.3	1	1 MW	35	60.5
Clackamas County, OR Siemens Digital Industries Software	Moderate pressure	36.2	1	5 MW	35	60.4
Calumet County, WI Involta	Moderate pressure	36.2	1	12 MW	42	60.3
Lake County, IN Digital Crossroad	Low pressure	36.1	2	23 MW	15	30.2
Essex County, MA AWS	Moderate pressure	36.1	2	10 MW	26	30.2
Minnehaha County, SD	Moderate pressure	36.1	2	60 MW	29	30.2
Bear Lake County, ID The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints	High pressure	36.1	1	1 MW	53	60.1
Johnson County, IA	Moderate pressure	35.5	1	1 MW	44	59.1
Ellis County, KS	Moderate pressure	35.5	1	2 MW	38	59.1
Jackson County, CO	Moderate pressure	35.4	4	—	46	13.8
Broward County, FL Flexential	Moderate pressure	35.3	2	25 MW	35	28.8
Monroe County, IN Indiana University	Moderate pressure	35.3	1	19 MW	37	58.8
Genesee County, MI	Moderate pressure	35.2	1	7 MW	31	58.6
Alachua County, FL University of Florida	Moderate pressure	35.1	2	7 MW	43	28.5
Hinds County, MS	Moderate pressure	35.1	1	—	48	58.5
Franklin County, NY 2CRSi	Moderate pressure	35.0	1	—	39	58.3
Duval County, FL Cologix	Moderate pressure	34.9	2	6 MW	39	28.1
Ramsey County, MN H5	Low pressure	34.9	2	22 MW	16	28.1
Hamilton County, OH CyrusOne	Low pressure	34.9	2	9 MW	15	28.1
Stanislaus County, CA Yosemite Community College District	Moderate pressure	34.8	1	1 MW	32	58.0
Washington County, RI	Moderate pressure	34.7	1	—	38	57.8
St. Louis city, MO Washington University in St. Louis	Low pressure	32.7	3	14 MW	15	13.8
Yellowstone County, MT	Moderate pressure	32.4	1	—	39	54.0
Hopkins County, KY	Moderate pressure	32.2	1	88 MW	41	53.6
Medina County, TX Microsoft	High pressure	31.7	1	46 MW	60	52.9
Contra Costa County, CA	Moderate pressure	31.7	1	—	32	52.9
Larimer County, CO	Moderate pressure	31.6	1	—	47	52.6
Whatcom County, WA CSS Communications	Moderate pressure	31.0	1	1 MW	30	51.6
Walworth County, WI AT&T	Moderate pressure	30.4	1	2 MW	32	50.7
Moffat County, CO	High pressure	30.4	1	—	65	50.7
Linn County, OR Stayton Cooperative Telephone Company	Moderate pressure	30.1	1	1 MW	32	50.1
Ward County, TX IONIC Digital	High pressure	29.6	1	448 MW	54	49.3
Washington County, UT Lumen Technologies	Moderate pressure	29.5	1	0 MW	42	49.2
Polk County, FL	Moderate pressure	29.0	1	5 MW	43	48.4
Campbell County, WY	Moderate pressure	28.8	1	1 MW	45	48.0
Berks County, PA	Moderate pressure	28.5	1	—	41	47.5
Adair County, MO AT&T	High pressure	28.4	1	—	53	47.4
Rock Island County, IL	Moderate pressure	28.2	1	—	39	47.0
Clearfield County, PA	Moderate pressure	27.9	1	—	33	46.5
Coshocton County, OH	Moderate pressure	27.5	1	—	27	45.9
Onondaga County, NY Syracuse University	Moderate pressure	27.3	1	2 MW	25	45.5
Taylor County, TX	Moderate pressure	27.1	1	—	44	45.1
Thurston County, WA	Moderate pressure	26.9	1	2 MW	28	44.8
Cobb County, GA CoreSite	Low pressure	26.3	2	82 MW	18	13.8
Muscogee County, GA DLI ONE	Moderate pressure	26.3	2	107 MW	25	13.8
Paulding County, GA Aligned	Moderate pressure	26.3	2	—	30	13.8
Jefferson County, KY Flexential	Low pressure	26.3	2	14 MW	7	13.8
Suffolk County, MA	Low pressure	26.3	2	—	23	13.8
Butler County, OH CyrusOne	Low pressure	26.3	2	309 MW	7	13.8
Frederick County, VA	Low pressure	26.3	2	55 MW	22	13.8
Roane County, TN Oak Ridge National Laboratory	Moderate pressure	26.2	1	—	49	43.7
Solano County, CA	Moderate pressure	25.6	1	11 MW	26	42.7
Boulder County, CO	Moderate pressure	25.6	1	—	43	42.7
St. Louis County, MN	Moderate pressure	24.5	1	5 MW	32	40.9
Pima County, AZ DirecTV	Moderate pressure	23.4	1	3 MW	31	39.0
Jefferson County, CO	Moderate pressure	23.4	1	—	41	39.0
Madison County, IL	Moderate pressure	23.3	1	0 MW	31	38.9
Columbiana County, OH	Low pressure	22.9	1	—	24	38.1
Monmouth County, NJ Apollo	Moderate pressure	22.6	1	5 MW	27	37.7
Wichita County, TX	Moderate pressure	22.6	1	8 MW	42	37.7
Guilford County, NC	Moderate pressure	22.4	1	—	37	37.4
El Paso County, TX	Low pressure	22.3	1	—	22	37.1
Wood County, OH Meta	Moderate pressure	21.7	1	4.30 GW	45	36.2
Kanawha County, WV Alpha Innovations	Low pressure	21.7	1	—	18	36.2
Walton County, GA	Moderate pressure	21.5	1	—	40	35.9
Bartholomew County, IN	Low pressure	21.5	1	—	21	35.9
Wise County, VA	Moderate pressure	21.5	1	—	32	35.9
Ventura County, CA	Low pressure	21.5	1	—	21	35.9
Buffalo County, NE	Moderate pressure	21.1	1	71 MW	41	35.2
Williamson County, TX Switch	Moderate pressure	20.9	1	—	41	34.9
Aiken County, SC Meta	Low pressure	20.6	1	722 MW	23	34.4
Spotsylvania County, VA AWS	Moderate pressure	20.5	1	—	32	34.1
Champaign County, IL	Moderate pressure	20.3	1	9 MW	46	33.9
Cumberland County, PA	Moderate pressure	20.1	1	—	28	33.5
Riverside County, CA	Low pressure	20.1	1	—	19	33.5
Lake County, IL VISA	Low pressure	19.3	1	11 MW	22	32.2
Anoka County, MN Encompass	Low pressure	19.3	1	15 MW	20	32.2
White County, AR City of Searcy	Moderate pressure	19.3	1	1 MW	48	32.2
Norfolk County, MA	Moderate pressure	19.1	1	—	27	31.8
Bergen County, NJ nyse	Moderate pressure	18.9	1	40 MW	28	31.5
Bristol County, MA	Low pressure	18.7	1	—	23	31.2
Allen County, IN	Moderate pressure	18.6	1	—	35	31.0
Montgomery County, OH	Low pressure	18.6	1	—	16	31.0
Hampden County, MA	Low pressure	18.4	1	—	20	30.7
Gloucester County, NJ	Moderate pressure	18.1	1	8 MW	27	30.2
Houston County, AL AngelTrax Mobile Video Surveillance Solutions	Moderate pressure	18.1	1	2 MW	43	30.2
District of Columbia, DC CoreSite	Moderate pressure	17.8	1	—	35	29.7
Howard County, MD	Moderate pressure	17.8	1	22 MW	30	29.7
Macomb County, MI Dennis Sampier	Low pressure	17.8	1	—	20	29.7
Scott County, IA	Moderate pressure	17.6	1	11 MW	28	29.3
Lancaster County, NE	Low pressure	17.6	1	—	25	29.3
Dorchester County, SC	Moderate pressure	17.6	1	—	33	29.3
Marion County, IN	Low pressure	17.3	1	—	19	28.8
Union County, NC	Moderate pressure	17.3	1	122 MW	44	28.8
Horry County, SC	Moderate pressure	17.3	1	18 MW	31	28.8
East Baton Rouge Parish, LA	Low pressure	16.9	1	—	17	28.1
Rutherford County, TN State of Tennessee	Low pressure	16.9	1	—	20	28.1
Suffolk County, NY	Low pressure	16.6	1	7 MW	19	27.7
Dickens County, TX	Moderate pressure	8.4	1	—	44	14.0
Forsyth County, GA	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	35 MW	28	13.8
Hancock County, IN Verizon Wireless	Low pressure	8.3	1	4 MW	19	13.8
Morgan County, IN Google	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	12	13.8
Marshall County, IA	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	11	13.8
Boone County, KY	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	12	13.8
McCracken County, KY	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	45 MW	25	13.8
Monroe County, MI	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	12	13.8
Olmsted County, MN	Low pressure	8.3	1	10 MW	12	13.8
Sherburne County, MN	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	10	13.8
Boone County, MO	Low pressure	8.3	1	8 MW	23	13.8
Union County, NJ Barclays	Low pressure	8.3	1	19 MW	17	13.8
St. Lawrence County, NY Clarkson University	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	11	13.8
Yates County, NY Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc.	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	19	13.8
Delaware County, OH	Low pressure	8.3	1	62 MW	16	13.8
Erie County, OH Aligned Data Centers	Low pressure	8.3	1	127 MW	14	13.8
Spartanburg County, SC	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	—	28	13.8
Grainger County, TN	Low pressure	8.3	1	0 MW	20	13.8
Hamilton County, TN	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	21	13.8
Henry County, TN	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	17 MW	26	13.8
Uintah County, UT	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	3 MW	28	13.8
Hanover County, VA	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	16	13.8
Russell County, VA	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	—	26	13.8
Montgomery County, AL Meta	Low pressure	8.3	1	—	19	13.8
Pulaski County, AR	Moderate pressure	8.3	1	6 MW	32	13.8
Manassas city, VA AWS	No verdict	n/a	7	19 MW	—	n/a
New York County, NY Digital Realty	No verdict	n/a	6	15 MW	—	n/a
Doña Ana County, NM WSMR	No verdict	n/a	2	6 MW	—	n/a
Richmond County, NY Merrill Lynch	No verdict	n/a	2	27 MW	—	n/a
Harrisonburg city, VA	No verdict	n/a	2	101 MW	—	n/a
Virginia Beach city, VA	No verdict	n/a	2	—	—	n/a
Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT CyrusOne	No verdict	n/a	2	18 MW	—	n/a
Kings County, NY Dataverge	No verdict	n/a	1	—	—	n/a
Lynchburg city, VA	No verdict	n/a	1	—	—	n/a
Capitol Planning Region, CT	No verdict	n/a	1	—	—	n/a
Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT Digital Realty	No verdict	n/a	1	27 MW	—	n/a
South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT	No verdict	n/a	1	11 MW	—	n/a

Showing 330 of 330 counties with mapped data center facilities. Sort by any column to compare the published national atlas values.

Methodology and FAQ

How the atlas is built

DCWSI weights modeled compliance stress at 60% and data center density at 40%. Water pressure is the inverse of a separate model weighting compliance stress, drought stress, and industrial-withdrawal percentile. Both are county-level screening tools, not facility audits. Read the full methodology.

What does "water pressure" mean here?: Water pressure is the inverse of a planning-model score that combines modeled compliance stress (50%), current drought stress (30%), and the county industrial-withdrawal percentile (20%). Higher values indicate more modeled pressure. It is not a site-capacity or siting decision.
Which counties have the most data centers in this dataset?: Northern Virginia (led by Loudoun County) holds the densest mapped concentration by facility count, followed by major markets in Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Georgia. AWS accounts for the most mapped facilities nationally, ahead of Google, Microsoft, and Meta.
Where does the facility data come from?: The facility layer combines EPA ECHO active-facility records, EPA Clean Water Act permit records, OpenStreetMap data center features, and the IM3 Open Source Data Center Atlas (DOE/PNNL), all geocoded to county FIPS. Capacity estimates and industrial water baselines come from IM3 and USGS 2020 water-use data.
Is this a facility-level water-use audit?: No. DCWSI and water pressure are county-level screening metrics for journalists, researchers, and residents. They do not prove consumptive use, water rights, or utility-specific constraints for any single facility. Treat them as a first pass, then verify locally.

Sources: EPA ECHO, EPA Clean Water Act permits, OpenStreetMap, the IM3 Open Source Data Center Atlas (DOE/PNNL), USGS 2020 water-use data, and the WaterByCounty county water dataset. Total permitted discharge across mapped facilities: 1.1M gal/day.