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62 The Authority | August 2025 in court to learn how much water the company’s data centers are using in an area east of Portland. Documentation revealed the answer to be nearly a quarter of all the water available in town. Fortunately, in the Susquehanna River Basin you don’t need a lawsuit to discover water usage, because our Commission exists to permit and track it. But tech companies are very protective of their proprietary business plans, which does make it hard for agencies, municipalities, legislators, and other stakeholders to get the answers needed in order to make sound planning decisions. We’re hearing a lot of big tech companies pledging to go greener with new, less water-intensive cooling methods. Only time will tell if they hold- up to their promises. Because now, at the start of the AI era, as technology evolves faster than I can write this article without the help of AI, many questions remain to be answered. And in the interest of water conservation, we won’t be asking ChatGPT. So before your community undertakes planning for an energy intensive data center, please add water needs to the discussion. We’re happy to be a resource as we strive to preserve one of our basin’s most precious ones. S Data article continued from page 15. According to researchers at the University of California, it takes a little more than a 16 oz. bottle of water to write one 100-word email with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for protecting and wisely managing the water resources within the 27,500 square-mile Susquehanna River Basin without regard to political boundaries. Our mission is to enhance public welfare through comprehensive planning, water supply allocation, and management of the water resources of the basin. For more information on the Commission, visit srbc.gov.