Meta (Facebook’s parent) confirmed in Dec 2024 that it will build a $10 billion artificial-intelligence data center in Richland Parish, northeast Louisiana.
The campus will cover about 4 million square feet (roughly 70 football fields) on a former 2,250-acre farm. It’s one of the largest private tech investments in Louisiana’s history.
Drought-Stressed Landscape Raises Concerns
The data center sits in a region already under drought: in 2024, about 1.4 million Louisianans faced drought restrictions.
Farmers and residents worry that diverting millions of gallons for the center could further strain local water supplies and agriculture. With river levels low and aquifers limited, even promised jobs carry the risk of aggravating the area’s water crisis.
Tech Spending Spurs Data Center Boom
Meta’s announcement comes amid a nationwide AI build-out. In 2025, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta are projected to spend $320 billion on AI infrastructure – more than double their combined $151 billion in 2023.
This surge is driving companies to erect new data centers from California to Virginia. Meta’s new site will in fact be the largest of its roughly 20 global data centers, underscoring the scale of the AI infrastructure race.
Data Centers vs. Water Scarcity Collide
Many new data centers are planned in already arid states. California, Arizona, and Texas have seen a construction boom as AI demand explodes.
These states are also battling worsening droughts and rising temperatures. Critics note that cooling these massive server farms can consume millions of gallons daily, heightening tensions over who should get scarce water – communities or corporations.
Scope of Meta’s $10B AI Campus
Meta calls the project an “artificial intelligence optimized” data center to be built by 2030. It will span 4 million sq ft and be powered by advanced AI hardware.
Meta estimates the center will employ 500 or more permanent workers, plus 5,000 construction jobs at peak. At this scale, it is the largest of Meta’s data hubs worldwide.
Jobs Boost vs. Water Worries
State officials tout an economic windfall: the center will generate roughly 500 new high-tech jobs and trigger over 1,000 indirect jobs regionally. Meta also promised $200 million for local roads and water infrastructure.
“We don’t come from a wealthy parish, and the money is much needed,” said local business owner Trae Banks. Yet many locals worry that any surge in jobs comes at the cost of the parish’s limited water supply.
Community Voices: Hope and Fear
Reactions in the farming communities of Rayville and Delhi are mixed. Some celebrate the promised income and improved schools, while others deeply mistrust the project’s impact. As one neighbor put it after a 2018 Meta build in Georgia, “It feels like we’re fighting an unwinnable battle that we didn’t sign up for”.
Residents demand guarantees on local hiring and water safeguards, voicing anxiety over disappearing wells and rising bills in public forums.
Big Tech Data Center Race
Meta isn’t alone. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and others are racing to build AI data campuses across the country and globe. Each investment is luring state incentives and sparking local debates. For example, Amazon has dozens of U.S. data centers, and Arizona now ranks as the second-largest data center market after Virginia in terms of power consumption.
States compete to attract these projects, even as communities brace for the burdens they bring.
AI Boom Strains Power Grids
Experts warn the AI boom could double data center electricity use by 2026.
Goldman Sachs forecasts that by 2030, AI could push data centers to consume 10% of U.S. electricity (up from 4% in 2023). This surge is already straining grids and fueling the construction of a new power plant. In Louisiana, Entergy is building gas turbines and a huge transmission line to carry an extra 2 gigawatts for Meta, sparking a debate over who pays for grid upgrades.
Massive Water Needs Highlighted
AI data centers demand vast water volumes for cooling. In 2022, Google, Microsoft, and Meta alone used about 580 billion gallons of water on data centers – enough for 15 million households for a year.
Most of this intake is lost to evaporation and not returned to locals. As one engineer warned, even “a typical data center can consume up to 5 million gallons of water daily,” amplifying stress on water-stressed regions.
Community Frustration Mounts
Public meetings have grown tense. Locals accuse officials of rubber-stamping without answers. At a recent hearing, Richland Parish resident Angelle Rosenberg pressed regulators: “If the average data center permanent jobs are 12 to 15, and y’all say it’s going to be 500, … do we actually know that they’re hiring people from Monroe, Rayville, Delhi, [or] are they bringing in these folks from other places?”.
Critics are calling for independent reviews and data disclosure on water and energy use.
Leadership Response and Pledges
Meta and state leaders are scrambling to address concerns. Meta officials highlight the project’s clean-energy plan: the company will match all its power with 100% renewable energy and bring 1,500 MW of new renewables online in Louisiana.
Governor Jeff Landry hailed the project as “a new chapter,” saying it makes the region “an anchor in Louisiana’s rapidly expanding tech sector”. Meta also emphasizes job creation and tax revenue. Critics, however, note that these commitments lack binding guarantees.
Company’s Environmental Assurances
In public statements, Meta has promised to mitigate its footprint. Company leaders say they will implement advanced water-recycling and energy-efficient cooling systems. Meta has pledged to “restore more water than it consumes” at the Louisiana center by funding local water projects.
The firm has also touted plans to reuse and recycle cooling water, use drought-resistant landscaping, and run on clean power. These proposals are new, but details remain sparse in official filings.
Experts Question Tech Fixes
Environmental researchers caution that tech solutions may fall short. UC Riverside scientist Shaolei Ren notes: “Unlike carbon emissions, the health impacts caused by a data center in one region cannot be offset by cleaner air elsewhere”.
Stanford’s Jennifer Turliuk warns, “We are on a path where the effects of climate change won’t be fully known until it is too late to do anything about it”. Experts argue that efficiency gains and offsets can’t fully erase local impacts and call for stricter limits on resource use.
Weighing Benefits Against Costs
The community now faces a crucial question: will the long-term benefits outweigh the burdens? Over the next decade, Richland Parish will host 10+ million sq ft of servers. Construction will continue through 2030.
School funding, wages, and roads may rise, but so might utility rates and farmland conversions. How Louisiana balances high-tech opportunity with preserving its scarce water will be closely watched by other states tempted by Big Tech’s investment.
Pressure Builds for Regulations
Lawmakers and regulators are taking notice. Currently, data centers aren’t required to report water use in most jurisdictions. Experts say policy must catch up fast.
Proposals now call for mandatory water-use disclosure and strict consumption caps. “Policymakers have a critical window of opportunity,” one analysis notes, to demand transparency and “develop timely interventions” on data center water use. New bills are being drafted in several states to mandate these protections.
Global Water Backlash
The debate echoes worldwide. In India’s tech hub, Bangalore, data centers already consume ~8 million liters of water daily, worsening a historic drought. In Uruguay and Chile, protests have derailed projects; courts have revoked or limited permits over water fears.
These episodes show a growing international public backlash: tech investments formerly seen as unassailable are now under scrutiny for their “digital colonialism” of local resources.
Legal and Environmental Risks
Industry observers warn of lawsuits and stricter enforcement ahead. Some community groups have won legal battles over data centers: e.g., activists in Chile forced Google to reapply for a water-use permit, and Oregon residents compelled state officials to release secret water-consumption data.
Environmental advocates argue that without robust, enforceable standards, both companies and governments risk litigation and reputational damage for putting growth above local well-being.
Rising Demand for Tech Accountability
The controversy is shifting public attitudes toward Big Tech. Studies show data centers are often locate in poorer, rural areas, making low-income communities disproportionately bear any pollution or shortages.
As awareness spreads, citizens and younger voters increasingly expect corporate responsibility. Community leaders across the U.S. are now demanding a seat at the table for any project that threatens their water. The tide is turning toward stronger oversight of tech’s environmental footprint.
The Bigger Picture: Innovation vs. Resources
Meta’s hyper-scale AI center captures a key paradox of the digital era. Massive investments in cutting-edge technology promise economic growth and new capabilities, but they also consume enormous resources. Meta, for instance, pledges to restore more water than it draws, highlighting one side of the solution.
The broader challenge will be ensuring that the benefits of AI and connectivity do not come at the cost of essential local resources. The debate is only beginning.