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A graphic of two hands reaching up to catch water from a flowing spigot.
(Provided by Gigafact)

Yes.

The developer building a new data center in north Denver said the facility could use up to 805,000 gallons of water each day to cool its computer systems if all three planned buildings are constructed.

A single-family home uses roughly 200 gallons of water per day, according to Denver Water.

The developer, CoreSite, already operates two data centers in downtown Denver. It has faced criticism for lack of community engagement around the new facility, which could span up to 590,000 square feet at East 49th Avenue and Race Street, in a neighborhood with a long history of dangerous pollution. 

Data centers in Denver Water’s service area use less than 1% of the 180 million gallons of water its customers use daily.

In May, Denver passed a yearlong moratorium on new data centers and city officials declared that Denver is experiencing a Stage 1 drought, prompting watering restrictions. 

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Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Cassis Tingley is a Denver-based freelance journalist. She’s spent the last three years covering topics ranging from political organizing and death doulas in the Denver community to academic freedom and administrative accountability at the University of Denver, where she earned her bachelor’s in journalism and international studies in 2024. Her...