A bigger-picture view · July–September 2026

Compare the largest impacts

Which data centres use the most water or produce the most air pollution? These lists compare the largest estimated impacts among the US sites we track.

Annual estimates at current capacity · Uncertainty roughly ±40% · Select a site for its short guide.

The largest water use

Includes water used for cooling and for generating electricity. Some of this water is used at power plants elsewhere. One comparison pool is 50 × 25 × 2 metres: about 660,430 US gallons.

1. 1
   Data Center Alley

   AWS · Equinix · Digital Realty · QTS · CloudHQ · Ashburn / Sterling, Virginia
   10.4 billion gal / year≈ 43.2 swimming pools every day
2. 2
   Central Ohio cluster

   AWS · Google · Meta · Microsoft · New Albany / Hilliard / Dublin, Ohio
   2.82 billion gal / year≈ 11.7 swimming pools every day
3. 3
   Douglas & Coweta County cluster

   QTS · Microsoft · Switch · DataBank · Douglasville / Palmetto, Georgia
   2.40 billion gal / year≈ 9.96 swimming pools every day
4. 4
   Council Bluffs

   Google · Council Bluffs, Iowa
   2.20 billion gal / year≈ 9.14 swimming pools every day
5. 5
   Project Rainier

   Amazon Web Services · New Carlisle, Indiana
   2.11 billion gal / year≈ 8.76 swimming pools every day
6. 6
   Phoenix West cluster

   Microsoft · Google · Vantage · Aligned · Goodyear / El Mirage, Arizona
   1.92 billion gal / year≈ 7.95 swimming pools every day
7. 7
   Cumulus / Susquehanna

   Amazon Web Services · Salem Township, Pennsylvania
   1.86 billion gal / year≈ 7.74 swimming pools every day
8. 8
   Elk Grove & DeKalb cluster

   Digital Realty · CyrusOne · Meta · Microsoft · Elk Grove Village / DeKalb, Illinois
   1.86 billion gal / year≈ 7.71 swimming pools every day
9. 9
   Berkeley County

   Google · Moncks Corner, South Carolina
   1.64 billion gal / year≈ 6.82 swimming pools every day
10. 10
    Pryor Creek / Mayes County

    Google · Pryor, Oklahoma
    1.64 billion gal / year≈ 6.79 swimming pools every day
11. 11
    Quincy

    Microsoft · Quincy, Washington
    1.49 billion gal / year≈ 6.19 swimming pools every day
12. 12
    Stanton Springs

    Meta Platforms · Social Circle / Newton County, Georgia
    1.31 billion gal / year≈ 5.43 swimming pools every day
13. 13
    The Dalles

    Google · The Dalles, Oregon
    1.30 billion gal / year≈ 5.4 swimming pools every day
14. 14
    Google Montgomery County / Clarksville

    Google · Clarksville, Tennessee
    1.14 billion gal / year≈ 4.74 swimming pools every day
15. 15
    Colossus

    xAI · Memphis (Boxtown), Tennessee
    1.11 billion gal / year≈ 4.6 swimming pools every day
16. 16
    West San Antonio campus

    Microsoft · San Antonio, Texas
    967 million gal / year≈ 4.01 swimming pools every day
17. 17
    Prometheus

    Meta Platforms · New Albany, Ohio
    941 million gal / year≈ 3.9 swimming pools every day
18. 18
    Google Papillion

    Google · Papillion, Nebraska
    904 million gal / year≈ 3.75 swimming pools every day
19. 19
    Lenoir

    Google · Lenoir, North Carolina
    789 million gal / year≈ 3.27 swimming pools every day
20. 20
    Reno / Storey County cluster

    Google · Apple · Switch · Vantage · Reno / McCarran, Nevada
    759 million gal / year≈ 3.15 swimming pools every day

The most air pollution

Includes nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles from the site and its electricity supply. These totals don’t measure the air quality in a neighbourhood.

1. 1
   Project Rainier

   Amazon Web Services · New Carlisle, Indiana
   4,316 tonnes / year2.29% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
2. 2
   Data Center Alley

   AWS · Equinix · Digital Realty · QTS · CloudHQ · Ashburn / Sterling, Virginia
   3,876 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
3. 3
   Elk Grove & DeKalb cluster

   Digital Realty · CyrusOne · Meta · Microsoft · Elk Grove Village / DeKalb, Illinois
   2,992 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
4. 4
   Central Ohio cluster

   AWS · Google · Meta · Microsoft · New Albany / Hilliard / Dublin, Ohio
   2,862 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
5. 5
   Council Bluffs

   Google · Council Bluffs, Iowa
   2,195 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
6. 6
   Pryor Creek / Mayes County

   Google · Pryor, Oklahoma
   1,781 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
7. 7
   Douglas & Coweta County cluster

   QTS · Microsoft · Switch · DataBank · Douglasville / Palmetto, Georgia
   1,527 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
8. 8
   Reno / Storey County cluster

   Google · Apple · Switch · Vantage · Reno / McCarran, Nevada
   1,397 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
9. 9
   Sarpy County

   Meta Platforms · Papillion, Nebraska
   1,387 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
10. 10
    Phoenix West cluster

    Microsoft · Google · Vantage · Aligned · Goodyear / El Mirage, Arizona
    1,335 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
11. 11
    Prometheus

    Meta Platforms · New Albany, Ohio
    1,310 tonnes / year22.6% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
12. 12
    Google Papillion

    Google · Papillion, Nebraska
    1,141 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
13. 13
    Stanton Springs

    Meta Platforms · Social Circle / Newton County, Georgia
    1,001 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
14. 14
    Fairwater

    Microsoft · Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
    937 tonnes / year2.12% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
15. 15
    Eagle Mountain

    Meta Platforms · Eagle Mountain, Utah
    911 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
16. 16
    Colossus

    xAI · Memphis (Boxtown), Tennessee
    906 tonnes / year43.4% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
17. 17
    Citadel Campus

    Switch · Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, Nevada
    881 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
18. 18
    Stargate Abilene

    Crusoe / Lancium (Oracle lease) · Abilene, Texas
    818 tonnes / year39.5% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
19. 19
    West San Antonio campus

    Microsoft · San Antonio, Texas
    699 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants
20. 20
    Berkeley County

    Google · Moncks Corner, South Carolina
    631 tonnes / year0% of modelled emissions on site · rest at power plants

Use this in your communityDownload the data

Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. How the estimates work.