--- title: "Data Center Caught Watering Its Lavish Lawn While Human Neighbors Are on Year-Long Water Restriction" description: "A viral clip captured sprinklers watering the massive lawn of a brand new data center in Denver's Elyria-Swansea neighborhood." date: "2026-09-07" modified: "2026-09-07" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/data-center-lawn-neighbors-drought-water-restrictions" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Ethics" - "Science & Energy" --- # Data Center Caught Watering Its Lavish Lawn While Human Neighbors Are on Year-Long Water Restriction ![A black garden sprinkler is spraying water in a wide arc over green grass. The water streams are captured in motion, creating a fan-like pattern. The background is blurred with natural colors, emphasizing the sprinkler and the water spray.]() When the Denver board of Water Commissioners approved stage one drought restrictions [back in March](), they did so facing some of the driest conditions in decades. According to the US Drought Monitor, the watershed sourced for Denver's water utility is experiencing a "severe to exceptional drought," while the Denver metropolitan area has been in a "severe drought." As a result, residents and businesses have been asked to scale back. Denverites now have to limit watering their lawns to two days a week, chosen by address. And even on those days, customers are prohibited from watering between the hours of 10am and 6pm, [*Gadget Review* reports](). Yet as some 1.5 million customers honor the restrictions, one major customer is evidently refusing to close the tap: a brand new AI data center. In a now-viral video circulating on social media, an unidentified resident of Denver's Elyria-Swansea neighborhood filmed the massive lawn of a data center being sprayed with copious amounts of water. "You better believe that they are watering their entire green with so many sprinklers that it's literally making a giant pond," the woman says. https://twitter.com/WelcomeTheGulag/status/2095827203955068993?s=20 The identity of the data center in question is unconfirmed, but it's likely the new [18 megawatt facility]() owned by the cloud computing company CoreSite. At around 170,000 square feet in size, the mammoth facility recently went live in Elyria-Swansea, though not without sparking a [wide-ranging debate]() around Denver's zoning regulations. It isn't known which tech companies are renting out space in CoreSite's Denver facility, but elsewhere the company has [proudly partnered]() with tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. As for the water use, it's impossible to say whether the lawn sprinklers were in violation of the city's drought restrictions without knowing the exact time and date that the reel was filmed. It's also possible that the facility is using recycled water to irrigate its grass, though that approach has [proved disastrous]() in other cities. Going forward, *Gadget Review* notes that all lawn sprinklers will be fully restricted as of October 1, with a ban set to last until Spring of next year. If Denver's data centers are still spewing after the cut-off, it remains to be seen how — or even if — local leaders plan to hold the facility's owners accountable. **More on data centers:** *[AI Will Consume as Much Water as a Billion People By 2030, UN Report Estimates]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()