Data Center Lawsuit to Access IID Water

[ndscott50]

Imperial Valley data center developer files lawsuit seeking access to Colorado River water

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing is suing the Imperial Irrigation District for access to 260 million gallons of water per year from the drought-stricken river.

www.kpbs.org

A data center developer is suing the Imperial Valley Irrigation district to provide water for his project. I would put the odds of the developer prevailing (in Imperial Valley District Court) as somewhere between zero and a snowballs chance in hell. There are lots of examples of data center developers using their power, money and influence to bulldoze local opposition. I think this developer is going to discover that the power dynamic in this case is not in their favor.

 

[Cookie]

Interesting, a lot of new Data Centers are using closed cooling systems, yes there is the initial water needed, but after that it is very little. Seems this developer wants to take the easy/cheaper way out.

The most sophisticated ones are also starting to provide their own power.

 

[nzaugg]

Interesting, a lot of new Data Centers are using closed cooling systems, yes there is the initial water needed, but after that it is very little. Seems this developer wants to take the easy/cheaper way out.

The most sophisticated ones are also starting to provide their own power.

It depends...

There are places where closed loop cooling systems become unusable due to the ingestion of heat in the heat exchangers/condensers due to heat islanding. Plus, the closed loop coolers require about 20% more energy to provide equivalent cooling. Water cooling can be done well, but it needs to be done with care.

 

[JFRCalifornia]

Imperial Valley data center developer files lawsuit seeking access to Colorado River water

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing is suing the Imperial Irrigation District for access to 260 million gallons of water per year from the drought-stricken river.

www.kpbs.org

A data center developer is suing the Imperial Valley Irrigation district to provide water for his project. I would put the odds of the developer prevailing (in Imperial Valley District Court) as somewhere between zero and a snowballs chance in hell. There are lots of examples of data center developers using their power, money and influence to bulldoze local opposition. I think this developer is going to discover that the power dynamic in this case is not in their favor.

Interesting. I agree that trying to win against IID would be a tough sled. As the article points out, IID has rights to 3.1 maf, but it didn’t mention that in 2025 it only used 2.2 maf, which is still an enormous volume, but from their perspective a massive cut in what they are entitled to use. So anybody looking to take another bite out of them—even the 880 af that the data center wants—is going to get blowback.

That said, 880 af is not nothing. As the article accurately points out, it could supply a town of 7,300. It’s roughly the same as what Needles uses. It’s roughly half as much as used by the Colorado River Indian Reservation, and more than three times the amount used by the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation. Or twice as much as the Cocopah tribe. I’m sure all those entities with historically senior rights would love to get their hands on a spare 880 af….

 

[ndscott50]

Interesting, a lot of new Data Centers are using closed cooling systems, yes there is the initial water needed, but after that it is very little. Seems this developer wants to take the easy/cheaper way out.

The most sophisticated ones are also starting to provide their own power.

In the grand scheme of things the water use of this project is trivial. 800 acre feet of IID water (they used around 2.4 million acre feet last year) is a minor rounding error on their usage. This is about precedent. The IID is strongly against outside interest buying up farmland and transferring the water that land was using to other purposes without their approval. Its a precedent they will fight vehemently to defend.

What stands out to me is just how dumb/arrogant this developer is. Anybody that knows anything would tell you that if you want to develop anything in the Imperial valley that needs water and to an extent power you need to get the IID on board. This person not only did not work to win them over they proceeded to fund candidates for the IID board who would support them. That effort failed miserably and now they are tryin to sue.

 

[ndscott50]

That said, 880 af is not nothing. As the article accurately points out, it could supply a town of 7,300. It’s roughly the same as what Needles uses. It’s roughly half as much as used by the Colorado River Indian Reservation, and more than three times the amount used by the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation. Or twice as much as the Cocopah tribe. I’m sure all those entities with historically senior rights would love to get their hands on a spare 880 af….

Fair point on 880 af not being irrelevant - it would be a lot of water to many river users. For the IID it is not the biggest issue however - particularly since its not 880 af of new usage, its water that is already being used for farming being transferred to another use.

 

[Ron M]

Imperial Valley data center developer files lawsuit seeking access to Colorado River water

Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing is suing the Imperial Irrigation District for access to 260 million gallons of water per year from the drought-stricken river.

www.kpbs.org

A data center developer is suing the Imperial Valley Irrigation district to provide water for his project. I would put the odds of the developer prevailing (in Imperial Valley District Court) as somewhere between zero and a snowballs chance in hell. There are lots of examples of data center developers using their power, money and influence to bulldoze local opposition. I think this developer is going to discover that the power dynamic in this case is not in their favor.

While Lake Powell and the areas feeding it are dry. The news is showing flooding from Houston, Louisiana and moving into Mississippi and Georgia. Either to much or not enough.