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A study is currently underway to determine whether a new data center in Utah will consume 16 billion gallons of water per year and be 2.7 times the size of Manhattan.
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Experts say it's difficult to provide precise figures for the proposed project because the developers of the data center, funded by billionaire investor Kevin O'Leary, have not provided water consumption estimates and have repeatedly walked back their statements or changed their plans after public outcry.
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A preliminary analysis conducted in May by Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit that promotes clean, renewable energy, found that the proposed Stratos data center in Box Elder County could consume between 2 billion and 16.6 billion gallons of water per year, depending on how the power is generated.
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The developers have stated that they will use new technologies that will significantly reduce water consumption, but experts are skeptical about the readiness of these technologies and are reluctant to trust the developers' claims without examining specific, detailed plans. There is no evidence of such plans.
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Additionally, while the entire project area covers 40,000 acres—roughly 2.7 times the size of Manhattan—O'Leary agreed to scale the project back to 10,000 acres after protests and demands from Utah Senate Majority Leader Stuart Adams.
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In an email, the Stratos development team said their plans are "still in the design phase" and they can't yet estimate how much water the data center will consume.
In the spring of 2026, social media users spread a rumor that a new data center in Utah would consume approximately 16 billion gallons of water per year and that its footprint would be 2.7 times the size of Manhattan.
Posts on X, Instagram, and Reddit expressed alarm over the supposedly vast space that would be occupied by the proposed AI data center—a physical structure used to house computer systems.
Utah has effectively approved a contract for Project Stratos, a plan to build a large-scale artificial intelligence data center backed by billionaire investor Kevin O'Leary, of "Shark Tank" fame. Precise figures for the data center are difficult to determine, as its developers have provided insufficient information and have repeatedly retracted their statements or changed their plans following public outcry.
Therefore, we have not evaluated this claim, although the figures are derived from reliable sources that provide rough estimates based on available information. In an email, the Stratos development team stated that their plans "are still in the design phase, and it is likely too early to specify any specific water quantities.".
«"Over time, once the design and development of the final solution is complete, we will conduct a proper study and determine the required water volumes," the team said.
Here's what you need to know:
Developers are cutting back their plans.
When the project in Box Elder County, Utah, was first announced, developers and state officials claimed it would occupy 40,000 acres, produce 9 gigawatts of electricity per year and run on natural gas.
Manhattan is 22.7 square miles, equivalent to 14,528 acres. Dividing 40,000 by 14,258, we find that Stratos's original design envisioned an area approximately 2.75 times larger than Manhattan.
However, following public outcry and a letter from Utah Senate Republican leader Stuart Adams, O'Leary agreed in early June 2026 to reduce the size of the proposed data center to 75%, despite calling the request "outrageous" just days earlier.
Water consumption depends on the technologies used.
To understand the approximate water consumption in the Stratos data center, it is important to know that there are two main ways water is used in data centers: water for cooling computers inside the center and water used in the power generation process.
The project's developers and backers are promoting a plan to use a closed-loop computer cooling system to reduce water consumption.
«"Because the cooling systems reuse water within the building, the projected ongoing water demand on campus will be similar to that of a large office complex, with most water use limited to everyday needs such as toilets, sinks, and employee areas," the office of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said in a frequently asked questions post about the center.
However, that doesn't address the issue of how much water a plant might need to generate electricity, said Logan Mitchell, a climate scientist and energy analyst with Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit that promotes clean, renewable energy.
A preliminary analysis by Utah Clean Energy in May (archived) was the source of the claim that the data center would consume 16 billion gallons of water per year: The organization calculated that it could use 16.6 billion gallons of water per year if developers used one of two common designs for generating electricity from natural gas, called a "combined-cycle gas turbine.".
Another design option, a piston-based internal combustion engine, would require 2 billion gallons of water, according to an analysis by Utah Clean Energy.
By comparison, the Utah Foundation, an independent research organization, estimated in 2023 that Utahns as a whole consume about 847 billion gallons of water per year.
«"Utah Clean Energy is simply saying, 'Look, you say you won't use much water, but you haven't provided any details on how you'll do that, so until you do, we'll do a standard technology analysis,'" Rob Davis, a physics professor at the University of Utah who studies sustainable environmental systems, wrote in an email.
Mitchell noted that high demand for combined-cycle gas turbines means they are sold out years in advance, so developers will likely choose the less water-consuming option. However, this option is much more expensive and creates "a huge amount of air pollution," Mitchell said in a phone interview.
«"That's why I absolutely cannot understand even proposing a 9-gigawatt data center," Mitchell said. "It's absurd from a purely economic standpoint, even without considering the environmental impact.".
According to Box Elder County officials, developers have stated they will use air-cooled heat exchangers to generate electricity—also known as Allam cycle power plants—which have "zero evaporative losses" from the atmosphere. However, experts are skeptical about the technology's readiness. (It's worth noting that the Governor's Office's frequently asked questions make no mention of Allam cycle power plants, focusing instead on closed-loop cooling systems.)
«"The world's largest Allama cycle power plant is in Texas, and it's 400 times smaller than the 9-gigawatt plant," Ben Abbott, an environmental science professor at Brigham Young University, said in a phone call. (He was referring to NET Power's demonstration plant.)
The developers told Snopes in an email that they plan to "develop a solution for waterless power generation," are "near completion of the system," and will "disclose the solution when the project is fully developed." Abbott and Mitchell stated that nuclear or renewable energy, such as solar and wind, would be far more efficient than natural gas. O'Leary has been a vocal proponent of natural gas, calling it the most "scalable," but he and state officials have also shared conflicting information about whether the center could use a mix of natural gas and renewable energy.
Let's look at the mathematical calculations.
According to Mitchell, the water consumption estimates provided by Utah Clean Energy are based on simple calculations using publicly available data. Utah Clean Energy reviewed power plant data published by PacifiCorp, a utility serving customers in Utah. According to Table 7.2 on page 167 of PacifiCorp's 2025 report PDF, combined-cycle gas turbine plants consume 210 gallons of water per megawatt-hour.
Nine gigawatts is equivalent to 9,000 megawatts. If the power plant operates year-round, then 9,000 megawatt-hours multiplied by 24 hours a day and 365 days a year equals 78,840,000 megawatts per year. Multiplying this by 210 gallons of water per megawatt-hour yields approximately 16.6 billion gallons per year.
Mitchell performed similar calculations using information from the same table, and for a different estimate.
Abbott said he found Utah Clean Energy's assessment "absolutely credible" and vouched for the organization, which he said is comprised of scientists conducting "serious analysis." He also noted that the analysis used state-specific information, not national data, meaning it is comparable to what already exists in Utah.
«"Overall, I think Utah Clean Energy's estimates are reasonable," said Abbott, who also heads Grow the Flow, an organization focused on Utah water policy and the restoration of the state's Great Salt Lake. "I think the worst-case scenario far exceeds [their estimate].".
Result
The environmental impact of the Stratos data center cannot yet be fully calculated. There may also be indirect consequences that cannot be determined by simple water consumption calculations: physics professor Davis found that the heat generated by the 9-gigawatt power plant could lead to a persistent increase in daytime temperatures and suppression of the condensation cycle, leading to even greater water consumption.
Many of these calculations become irrelevant if we assume O'Leary keeps his promise to scale back the data center construction. Until the developers present a detailed design for Stratos—or actually build the center—it's impossible to know how much water it will consume, how large it will be, and what its overall environmental impact will be.
«"They really need to come up with an actual plan, not just a concept of a plan," Mitchell said.
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«"Combined Cycle Power Plant | GE Gas Power." Gepower-V2, www.gevernova.com/gas-power/resources/education/combined-cycle-power-plants.
«"Estimated Emissions and Water Consumption from the Proposed Stratos Data Center – Utah Clean Energy." Utahcleanenergy.org, May 7, 2026, utahcleanenergy.org/estimated-emissions-and-water-consumption-from-the-proposed-stratos-data-center/.
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