Decision-Support Tool for AI Impact on Minnesota’s Water

Image credit: UMPR. 

This project will develop a tool to help communities, regulators, and data center developers determine whether enough water is available to support large AI data centers in Minnesota. The tool will estimate water use, assess potential effects on water systems, and support compliance with Minnesota House File 16.

Minnesota House File 16, enacted in June 2025, established energy, environmental and economic requirements for large data centers.

The project responds to the rapid expansion of data centers built to support artificial intelligence. AI is a broad term for computer systems that perform tasks such as analyzing data, recognizing patterns and making predictions. Generative AI is a type of AI that creates new content, including text, images, audio and computer code. As generative AI use grows, technology companies are building large data centers with the computing capacity needed to develop and operate these systems. These facilities can use substantial amounts of water to cool their equipment.

The project will:

• Estimate a data center’s real-time water use based on its equipment and operations.
• Predict heat and sulfate levels that could affect water systems and infrastructure.
• Develop a dashboard that helps data center operators and regulators review water-use information and meet requirements under Minnesota House File 16.