SOURCE WATER RESOURCES

• AI Has A Hidden Water Cost — Here's How To Calculate Yours

  Artificial intelligence systems are thirsty, consuming as much as 500 milliliters of water — a single-serving water bottle — for each short conversation a user has with the GPT-3 version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT system. They use roughly the same amount of water to draft a 100-word email message.

• Megadroughts Are Here To Stay, And U.S. Water Utilities Need To Adapt

  Researchers warn that California and other states affected by megadroughts — periods of drought lasting 20+ years — will have to accept this as the new normal. That means rethinking the water cycle and finding new, more sustainable water sources.

• Colorado's Subalpine Wetlands May Be Producing A Toxic Form Of Mercury — That's A Concern For Downstream Water Supplies

  The wetlands found across the Rocky Mountains of Colorado just below tree line are crucial for regulating the supply of clean water from the highlands to metropolitan regions downslope, including Denver. However, new research shows the wetlands also harbor a health risk.

• Water Conservation And Reuse For Data Centers

  Because of our own decades-long mismanagement of our collective global water resources, we are now facing a global freshwater crisis where the demand for freshwater is predicted to exceed its supply by 40% by the year 2030. Directly coinciding with the water crisis timeline is the growing need for data center construction in order to accommodate AI, cloud computing, and other Big Data and IoT processing.
• Grand Canyon's Dragon Bravo Megafire Shows The Growing Wildfire Threat To Water Systems

  As wildfire crews battled the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim in July 2025, the air turned toxic. A chlorine gas leak had erupted from the park’s water treatment facility as the building burned, forcing firefighters to pull back. The water treatment facility is part of a system that draws water from a fragile spring. The fire also damaged some of the area’s water pipes and equipment.

• As The Colorado River Slowly Dries Up, States Angle For Influence Over Future Water Rights

  The Colorado River is in trouble: Not as much water flows into the river as people are entitled to take out of it. A new idea might change that, but complicated political and practical negotiations stand in the way.
• Operational Resilience Through Temporary Water Reuse Solutions

  Temporary water reuse systems help industrial plants avoid costly downtime by maintaining treatment capabilities during maintenance, failure, or testing—offering fast deployment, flexibility, and permanent-quality results.

• What Are Legionella Log Books And Why Are They Important?

  Implementing and managing a Legionella control regime can sometimes seem daunting and complex. Invariably, a lot of resources, time, and effort are needed to achieve the required standard and provide assurance to senior management and auditors that controls are effective and those that are not are being managed and rectified appropriately.
• AI's Water Problem Is Worse Than You Think (But It Doesn't Have To Be)

  There's little doubt that AI is quickly becoming a powerful if not essential tool in our society. It's being used to help boost efficiencies and productivity in myriad ways — including for the research portion of this article. However, this productivity doesn't come for free. One of the biggest costs associated with AI is its demand for water.
• No Chlorine, No Contamination: A Cleaner Future For Wastewater Reuse

  As municipalities worldwide look to reuse water for agriculture, industry, and tertiary treatment such as filtration and disinfection prior to discharge or reuse for irrigation or industrial purposes, one inconvenient truth continues to lurk in the pipes: chlorine.