Quarterly ranking · embargoed to one outlet first

The twenty worst

Nobody else publishes per-site water plus per-site NOx, SO2 and PM2.5. This is the list. Capacity running today, US campuses first. Modelled, not measured; site-level error about ±40%.

Sites ranked40campuses
Water, all US40.7bn gal/yr
Criteria air33.2kt/yr
Health range1.91$bn EPA

Water taken out of the basin

Cooling towers evaporate on site. Power stations evaporate more, somewhere else, to make the electricity — that half almost never appears in a company’s own reporting. Ranked by total consumed, not withdrawn.

  1. 1
    Data Center Alley
    AWS · Equinix · Digital Realty · QTS · CloudHQ · Ashburn / Sterling, Virginia
    10,419 M gal
  2. 2
    Central Ohio cluster
    AWS · Google · Meta · Microsoft · New Albany / Hilliard / Dublin, Ohio
    2,822 M gal
  3. 3
    Douglas & Coweta County cluster
    QTS · Microsoft · Switch · DataBank · Douglasville / Palmetto, Georgia
    2,400 M gal
  4. 4
    Project Rainier
    Amazon Web Services · New Carlisle, Indiana
    2,112 M gal
  5. 5
    Phoenix West cluster
    Microsoft · Google · Vantage · Aligned · Goodyear / El Mirage, Arizona
    1,917 M gal
  6. 6
    Cumulus / Susquehanna
    Amazon Web Services · Salem Township, Pennsylvania
    1,865 M gal
  7. 7
    Council Bluffs
    Google · Council Bluffs, Iowa
    1,858 M gal
  8. 8
    Elk Grove & DeKalb cluster
    Digital Realty · CyrusOne · Meta · Microsoft · Elk Grove Village / DeKalb, Illinois
    1,858 M gal
  9. 9
    Quincy
    Microsoft · Quincy, Washington
    1,492 M gal
  10. 10
    Stanton Springs
    Meta Platforms · Social Circle / Newton County, Georgia
    1,309 M gal
  11. 11
    Berkeley County
    Google · Moncks Corner, South Carolina
    1,282 M gal
  12. 12
    The Dalles
    Google · The Dalles, Oregon
    1,189 M gal
  13. 13
    Colossus
    xAI · Memphis (Boxtown), Tennessee
    1,109 M gal
  14. 14
    West San Antonio campus
    Microsoft · San Antonio, Texas
    967 M gal
  15. 15
    Prometheus
    Meta Platforms · New Albany, Ohio
    941 M gal
  16. 16
    Reno / Storey County cluster
    Google · Apple · Switch · Vantage · Reno / McCarran, Nevada
    759 M gal
  17. 17
    Fairwater
    Microsoft · Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
    670 M gal
  18. 18
    Sarpy County
    Meta Platforms · Papillion, Nebraska
    653 M gal
  19. 19
    Lenoir
    Google · Lenoir, North Carolina
    625 M gal
  20. 20
    Eagle Mountain
    Meta Platforms · Eagle Mountain, Utah
    599 M gal

Nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particulates

Distant power plants versus turbines and diesel on the site itself. Diesel is a 50-hour testing term where the generator permit was retrieved; campuses without a count are floors.

  1. 1
    Project Rainier
    Amazon Web Services · New Carlisle, Indiana
    1,420 t NOx
  2. 2
    Data Center Alley
    AWS · Equinix · Digital Realty · QTS · CloudHQ · Ashburn / Sterling, Virginia
    1,917 t NOx
  3. 3
    Elk Grove & DeKalb cluster
    Digital Realty · CyrusOne · Meta · Microsoft · Elk Grove Village / DeKalb, Illinois
    940 t NOx
  4. 4
    Central Ohio cluster
    AWS · Google · Meta · Microsoft · New Albany / Hilliard / Dublin, Ohio
    989 t NOx
  5. 5
    Council Bluffs
    Google · Council Bluffs, Iowa
    690 t NOx
  6. 6
    Douglas & Coweta County cluster
    QTS · Microsoft · Switch · DataBank · Douglasville / Palmetto, Georgia
    535 t NOx
  7. 7
    Reno / Storey County cluster
    Google · Apple · Switch · Vantage · Reno / McCarran, Nevada
    648 t NOx
  8. 8
    Sarpy County
    Meta Platforms · Papillion, Nebraska
    468 t NOx
  9. 9
    Phoenix West cluster
    Microsoft · Google · Vantage · Aligned · Goodyear / El Mirage, Arizona
    723 t NOx
  10. 10
    Prometheus
    Meta Platforms · New Albany, Ohio
    627 t NOx
  11. 11
    Stanton Springs
    Meta Platforms · Social Circle / Newton County, Georgia
    351 t NOx
  12. 12
    Fairwater
    Microsoft · Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
    336 t NOx
  13. 13
    Eagle Mountain
    Meta Platforms · Eagle Mountain, Utah
    423 t NOx
  14. 14
    Colossus
    xAI · Memphis (Boxtown), Tennessee
    548 t NOx
  15. 15
    Citadel Campus
    Switch · Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, Nevada
    409 t NOx
  16. 16
    Stargate Abilene
    Crusoe / Lancium (Oracle lease) · Abilene, Texas
    516 t NOx
  17. 17
    West San Antonio campus
    Microsoft · San Antonio, Texas
    304 t NOx
  18. 18
    Berkeley County
    Google · Moncks Corner, South Carolina
    221 t NOx
  19. 19
    Midlothian / Red Oak
    Google · Meta · Ellis County developers · Midlothian, Texas
    233 t NOx
  20. 20
    Polaris Forge 1
    Applied Digital · Ellendale, North Dakota
    149 t NOx

In court or formally contested

The campuses already in a filing, a permit appeal, or a stay. Modelled figures belong in that coverage.

  1. 1
    Colossus
    xAI · Memphis (Boxtown), Tennessee
    548 t NOx
  2. 2
    Hyperion
    Meta Platforms · Richland Parish, Louisiana
    0.00 t NOx
  3. 3
    Fairwater
    Microsoft · Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
    336 t NOx
  4. 4
    Prince William Digital Gateway
    QTS / Compass Datacenters · Gainesville, Virginia
    0.00 t NOx
  5. 5
    The Dalles
    Google · The Dalles, Oregon
    85.0 t NOx
  6. 6
    Doña Ana County
    Oracle / Stargate · Santa Teresa, New Mexico
    0.00 t NOx
  7. 7
    Port Washington
    Vantage Data Centers (for OpenAI) · Port Washington, Wisconsin
    0.00 t NOx
  8. 8
    Cerrillos
    Google · Santiago (Cerrillos), Región Metropolitana
    0.00 t NOx
  9. 9
    Colossus 2 / Southaven
    xAI · Southaven, Mississippi
    225 t NOx

How to use this

Cite
Gigawatt Ledger (2026). The twenty worst, Q3 2026. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/rankings/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.
Next list
Q4 2026 will be offered first to one outlet. Request it from the press desk.
Numbers
Every row links to a printable campus briefing with the three-line hook, claimed vs observed water, distance to the 100-ton line, and the diesel term.

Gigawatt Ledger · Q3 2026. Method · not a company carbon score.