The demand for artificial intelligence means that data centers increase dehydration in Mexico

Querétaro is located in the middle of Mexico, a charming and colorful city in the colonial style known as the impressive stone channel.

But the city, and the same name, is also recognized for a completely different reason – as the data center of Mexico.

Through government companies including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Odata, these warehouse -like buildings, full of computer servers.

No one can provide an accurate number, but there are dozens of them, while building more.

Ascenty, which claims to be the largest data center company in Latin America, has two in Querétaro, both about 20,000 square feet, with a third under construction.

More than 10 billion dollars (7.4 billion pounds) is expected to flow in investment related to the state’s data in the next decade.

“The demand for artificial intelligence rushes the construction of data centers at an unprecedented speed,” says Choli Ren, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering at the University of California, on Riferside.

So, what is the attractiveness of Querétaro?

“It is a very strategic area,” explains Arturo Bravo, the director of the Mexican countryside in Ascenty.

“Querétaro directly in the middle [of the country]It connects East, West, North and South. “

This means that it is relatively close to the city of Mexico. It is also connected to high -speed data cables, so large amounts of data can be converted quickly.

Mr. Bravo also indicates the presence of support from the municipality and the central government.

“It has been determined as a technology center,” he says. “Both provide many good alternatives in terms of permits, organization and division.”

But why do many American companies choose this state on a place closer to the home?

“The restrictions of the energy network capacity in the United States drives technology companies to find the energy available anywhere,” says Choli Ren, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer at the University of California River Calcurial, adding that the cost of land and energy, and business -friendly policies are also attractive.

Data centers host thousands of servers – a specialized type of computer to process and send data.

Anyone who works with a computer on his lap will know that they feel uncomfortable heat. So, to stop data centers, complex cooling systems are needed that can use huge amounts of water.

However, not all data centers consume water at the same rate.

Some use water evaporation to waste heat, which works well but thirsty.

A small data center that uses this type of cooling About 25.5 million can be used A liter of water per year.

Other data centers, such as the owned by ASCENTY, use a closed loop system, which rotates water across the coolers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft BBC told that it runs three data centers in Queétaro. They use direct open air to cool about 95 % of the year, and they require zero water.

He said to 5 % of the remaining year, when the surrounding temperatures exceed 29.4 ° C, it uses evaporative cooling.

She added that Querétaro sites for the 2025 fiscal year used Queétaro sites with 40 million liters.

This is still a lot of water. If you look at the general consumption of the largest data center owners, the numbers are huge.

For example, In the sustainability report in 2025 Google reported that her total consumption of water increased by 28 % to 8.1 billion gallons between 2023 to 2024.

The report also said that 72 % of the fresh water it used came from sources at a “low risk of depleting water or scarcity.”

In addition, data centers also consume water indirectly, as water is required to produce electricity.

Additional water consumption by data centers is a big problem for some in Queétaro, which last year endured the worst drought in a century, which affects crops and water supplies for some societies.

At her home in Querétaro, activist Theresa Roldan told the population that the authorities had asked the authorities to obtain more information and transparency about the data and water centers they use, but they say this was not coming.

“Priority is given to private industries in these arid areas,” she says. “We hear that there will be 32 data centers, but water is what is required for people, and not for these industries. [the municipality] It gives priority to giving their own water to the special industry. Citizens do not receive the same water quality from the water that the industry receives. “

Speaking to the BBC in Querétaro, Claudia Romero Hirara, founder of the Water Activated Water Organization, will not comment on the state of water, on the lack of information, but it says she is concerned about water issues in the state.

“This is a country that already faces a very complex crisis and does not have enough water to get rid of a person. The priority for water must be for the basic means … and this is what we need to ensure, and we may think if there are some resources available for any other economic activity. There has been a conflict of interest in public water policy over the past two decades.”

A spokesman for the government of Querétaro’s government defended his decision, saying: “We have always said and repeated that water is intended for the consumption of citizens, and not for the industry. The municipality does not reach any colleges in the field of water allocation and even less than water quality.

Another concern for those who live near data centers is air pollution.

Professor Ren says that data centers usually depend on diesel backup generators that launch large amounts of harmful pollutants.

“The risk of diesel pollutants has been identified from data centers,” he says. Noting a healthy evaluation From the quality of the air surrounding local data centers by the Ministry of Environment in Washington State.

Mr. Bravo responded to those concerns by saying: “We work according to the conditions and conditions specified by the authorities, which in turn, in my view, are the ones that are concerned with the fact that these conditions are acceptable to the surrounding societies and the health of everyone.”

As for the future, Ascenty plans for more data centers in the region.

“I see it just a kind of progress and progress, with a new data center there is every few years,” says Mr. Bravo.

“The industry will continue to grow with the growth of artificial intelligence. It is a great future in terms of what will happen.”