Idaho Bills

Adds to existing law to establish limitations on consumptive use of water for cooling certain data centers.

RS33716 / H0895 Data centers have a great need for cooling in order for their equipment to run efficiently. Depending on the design, this can result in tremendous consumption of water. As a largely high-desert state, Idaho’s water resources are both limited and critical for many uses, including agriculture. The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that the cooling function of data centers built in the future is either designed for the non-consumptive use of water, or uses water for such purposes from a municipal, water district, or water and sewer district system. This will help ensure that Idaho’s limited water rights resources will continue to be available for existing uses, such as agriculture and industry.