Erin Brockovich Adds Thousands of New Data Center Concerns to Map

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has added thousands of community concerns about data centers to her nationwide tracking map, highlighting the growing public unease as the U.S. continues to push forward development of the infrastructure, which is essential for artificial intelligence (AI).

As part of her data center-tracking initiative on brockovichdatacenter.com, Brockovich has been gathering reports from local communities detailing their anxieties about the construction of the centers. She has then been adding them to a map that spotlights where these centers are across the country, as well as where new ones are being developed.

On June 2, just over 3,000 reports had added. By June 9, another 2,000 had been added, bringing the total to more than 5,000. However, Brockovich previously shared that the reports reflect only a portion of how many people have gotten in touch to share their worries about data centers. At the start of June, she said that more than 6,000 Americans had contacted her.

The surge in reports comes as data centers, which are critical to powering AI systems, are being built at an accelerating paceacross the U.S. The Trump administration has said that faster development is essential to staying ahead of rivals such as China in the AI race.

Concerns from local communities are wide-ranging, though many key issues cover the centers’ impact on water supplies, electricity demand and local infrastructure.

What Are Community Reports About?

Brockovich launched the platform in late May, asking Americans to help by reporting on data centers that are operational, under construction or proposed near them. Within days of its launch, thousands of submissions began flowing in.

According to the website, there has been a range of commonly reported concerns, many of which on:

• Considerable electricity consumption
• Significant water use for cooling systems
• Noise pollution from around-the-clock operations
• Strain on local infrastructure and resources
• Electronic waste from rapid hardware turnover
• Natural disasters, flooding or geopolitical instability disrupting operations

Data centers are well known for their significant water use-large centers can use up to 5 million gallons of water in a single day, which is equivalent to the water use of a town populated by between 10,000 to 50,000 people, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

One report estimated that U.S. data centers collectively consume nearly 450 million gallons of water daily and more than 160 billion gallons annually, while researchers at the University of California, Riverside, estimated that generating a 100-word AI response can consume roughly one bottle of water.

U.S. data centers also account for around 4.4 percent of America’s annual electricity consumption, according to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers of the report also forecasted that by 2028, that figure could be up to 12 percent.

Cities, Counties Halt Data Center Development Amid Backlash

In response to the growing national backlash to data center development, lawmakers have been grappling with the industry's demands on power grids, water supplies and household utility bills, bringing forward different legislative bills to implement guardrails and tighten regulation.

Some cities and counties are even bringing in outright bans on new development-either indefinitely or temporarily while their full environmental impact can be rigorously evaluated.

In Seattle, city officials passed a one-year moratorium on data center development, citing concerns about electricity demand and the strain on urban infrastructure.

Elsewhere, local governments in Kentucky are taking similar steps. Multiple counties and cities have introduced or passed temporary moratoriums on new data centers, as leaders seek time to better understand their potential impacts.

Monterey Park, California, also recently moved to ban the development of new data centers in the city following a landslide vote, while Georgia cities such as Palmetto, Fayetteville and Atlanta approved bans this year.

As submissions continue to pour in, Brockovich's map is likely to grow into one of the most visible public databases tracking data center expansion and community response. At the same time, more and more cities, counties and state are re-assessing their policies, with some exploring stricter rules, environmental safeguards or temporary bans.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 11:09 AM.