US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Claims Data Centres 'Don't Use Water' Despite 66 Billion Litres Consumed in 2023

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has claimed that artificial intelligence data centres 'don't use water', despite federal research estimating that US data centres directly consumed about 66 billion litres of water in 2023.

Lutnick made the remark during CNBC's Squawk Box appearance on Wednesday while defending the rapid expansion of data centres that power artificial intelligence.

'One of my favourite things is when people talk about data centres using water,' Lutnick said, according to CNBC's transcript. 'The No. 1 product in America that uses water is cattle.'

He then went further, saying: 'I mean, data centres don't use water. This is propaganda by our adversaries to try to slow us down.'

The comment immediately drew scrutiny because data centres do use water, particularly for cooling systems that keep servers from overheating.

Federal Report Shows Billions of Litres Used

A 2024 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report found that US data centres directly consumed about 66 billion litres of water in 2023, mostly through cooling operations. That figure was roughly triple the estimated 21.2 billion litres used in 2014, showing how fast the sector's water demand has grown alongside cloud computing and AI.

The research projected that US hyperscale data centres alone could directly consume between 60 billion and 124 billion litres of water in 2028.

The numbers do not mean data centres are the biggest water users in the United States. Agriculture, power generation and other sectors use far more. But they directly contradict Lutnick's broader claim that the facilities 'don't use water'.

Lutnick Previously Said AI 'Needs Water'

The statement also clashed with Lutnick's own past comments. In a May 2025 Fox News appearance, he promoted AI facilities as job creators while acknowledging their water needs. According to Mediaite, Lutnick said: 'These AI things, they suck water and they need water.'

The earlier remark resurfaced online after MeidasTouch senior digital editor Acyn Torabi posted clips of Lutnick's two statements side by side. The contrast quickly became a new flashpoint in the debate over whether the Trump administration is downplaying the local costs of AI infrastructure.

During a May 2025 television broadcast on Fox News, Lutnick actively promoted digital facilities by highlighting their plumbing and cooling demands.

He stated during that appearance that advanced artificial intelligence systems actively consume large volumes of water and require specialised engineering support.

Trump Pushes Data Centre Boom

Lutnick's comments came days after President Donald Trump accused communities opposing data centres of choosing poverty and decline.

'The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.'

The administration has cast data centres as essential to US competitiveness against China and as a major source of investment and technical jobs.

Backlash Grows Across Communities

But local resistance has widened beyond traditional environmental groups. Residents have raised concerns about water withdrawals, higher electricity bills, noise, pollution and pressure on farmland.

Reuters reported that even some Texas Republicans have turned against major data centre projects as public scrutiny grows.

Industry groups argue that newer facilities can use closed-loop or waterless cooling systems and that water use varies sharply by design, location and energy source.

The Data Centre Coalition says some facilities use no more water than large office buildings do, while acknowledging that water use remains a public concern.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is also examining legislation to ensure that communities do not bear the water infrastructure costs of data centre expansion.

The dispute comes as policymakers face growing pressure to balance the administration's push for AI infrastructure with concerns over its effects on local water supplies, electricity costs and other infrastructure.

As federal policymakers grapple with a deepening nationwide backlash against rapid digital expansion, the commerce secretary's paradoxical comments have intensified a high-stakes political debate over local resource depletion, strain on the electrical grid, and the true environmental cost of the technological revolution.