this post was submitted on 12 May 2026
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] StupidBrotherInLaw@lemmy.world 10 points 5 hours ago

I can't believe it: a ragebait screenshot with a mix of accurate and inaccurate details that make a bad situation look even worse. You all have frontal lobes, fellow apes. Use them to think critically, because there's a REASON memes like this want you to react emotionally and it's not in your best interests at all.

Tl;dr: the data center's usage is an issue, the local governments that facilitate and even encourage this behaviour are arguably even worse.

Truth: this shit hole data center used 30M gallons of water over the course of several months without being billed for it.

Rage Bait: they did it "illegally."

Truth: the data center fully intended and was allowed by local government to use that water in the course of its construction, but weren't billed because they didn't inform the local utility of one water hookup, and the utility cocked up by ignoring the usage for that hookup and failed to bill the center for the usage on its second hookup. The data center did exceed their usage limits, but that's not illegal: they simply pay penalties for the overage. The local utility waived these penalties because they're spineless.

Rage Bait: the exceedance caused a drop in water pressure.

Truth: the locals experiencing water pressure drops receive their water from groundwater while the data center uses surface water. Given groundwater recharge rates are painfully slow, the data center's usage did not cause the issue, though the pressure complaints led to the investigation that found the billing issues.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/data-center-used-30-million-gallons-of-water-without-initially-paying/

[–] StarryPhoenix97@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

If they're going to steal the water anyway, might as well make them use it to put out a fire...just a thought.

[–] OldChicoAle@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

You can if you're bribing the local politicians

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

30 million gallons is a mistake? No, that is blatant theft.

[–] jamesrandysghost@lemmy.zip 6 points 9 hours ago

We need the corporate death penalty so fucking badly...

[–] GirthBrooksPLO@lemmy.world 10 points 11 hours ago

Hope they kept that water for when the town burns that data center to the ground.

I saw a show once, where a sea parks burned down. And I know what you're thinking: "a fire? At a Sea Parks?!" And, yes, it is an odd place to go on fire, because of all that water, but it's happened. Anyway, the data center is flush with water, you say?

[–] jeniferariza@lemmy.world 9 points 12 hours ago

Funny how “honest mistake” only works when you’re rich enough to call it that. 30 million gallons is insane.

[–] AccoSpoot1@lemmy.world 12 points 14 hours ago

Oopsy woopsie, AI Data Centre did a fucky wucky!

[–] Mwa@thelemmy.club 3 points 10 hours ago

mfw i think Georgia the country.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 34 points 18 hours ago (5 children)

When you owe the bank $10,000 then you've got a problem.

When you owe the bank $100M then the bank's got a problem.

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[–] cleverusernametry@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago

Can we please ffs link to the original article with actual information rather than this ragebait slop - a screenshot of a reply to a tweet

[–] CaptainBasculin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 29 points 18 hours ago

whoops, accidentally used a bit too much water

[–] Impractical_Island@lemmy.world 13 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I used to "mistakenly" jack off in my window, just like I "accidentally" faked schizophrenia to get outta ROTC over the course of weeks, to include telling them my nonexistent sister got me pregnant, so I understand how this is possible.

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 8 points 16 hours ago (4 children)

Wasn't that a Melissa Etheridge song?

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 10 hours ago

Anything can be a Melissa Etheridge song if you're persuasive enough.

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[–] AeonFelis@lemmy.world 69 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

You are absolutely correct! I evaporated 30 million gallons of water that I was not legally allowed to use. Would you like me to come up with a plan to reduce water usage?

[–] minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

Reduce your carbon footprint citizen! It's your fault the world is on fire. Eco something and save plastic turtles or whatever... yeah.

I remember around the early 10s of this century the mainstream story in all media was how the earth was overpopulated and can't handle it in 2030. We can't sustain 9 billion, That story didn't last long when the feudal billionaire masters realized they needed the bodies for slavery in order to hoard wealth like never before in history. Now birth rates are dropping worldwide and that claim is dead.

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[–] undergroundoverground@lemmy.world 27 points 20 hours ago (4 children)

If you did it, it wouldn't be called "used illegally" it would be given its more traditional name of "stealing."

[–] isleepinahammock@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I'm going to try this when on trial for shoplifting. "No. I didn't steal it. You see, I never actually claimed ownership over the item I took. I would have given it back if they asked. I was just using it illegally!"

[–] Impractical_Island@lemmy.world 10 points 16 hours ago

Yes your honor, I accidentally stole offbrand Walmart Benadryl over a hundred times, but due to how ridiculously cheap it is, it has only cost Walmart $99, which they actually gain a profit from a specific loophole they use to fuck the insurance company when it's a pharmacy-department loss, so technically I'm an unspoken Walmart contractor, and I demand benefits!

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[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 35 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Whoopsie, I accidetawy used 30 miwion gawons of water 🥹 Can I pliz have more if I pwomise to behave?

[–] hamid@crazypeople.online 13 points 20 hours ago (5 children)

CAFO "Factory Farms" in Minnesota used 2.3 billion gallons of water in 2017 and the number is going up

A typical Hog CAFO uses 5-10 million gallons per month, every month, all year long.

Dairy CAFOS use 10-20 million.

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11365/ https://www.elpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MI-CAFO-Report-Section-1-ELPC.pdf

In Georgia where this data center is they have hundreds of these farms which not only drain the local aquifers but create shit lagoons that pollute mostly black neighborhoods.

It is the height of hypocrisy to complain about datacenters and support animal agriculture which is unnecessary.

Statewide, between 2010 and 2015, the estimated water use by hog farmers increased 116 percent (from 2.26 to 4.9 MGD). Within the livestock category, the greatest water use could be found in beef (15 MGD) and dairy (9.6 MGD) operations. The water use estimates for goats, sheep, horses, and broiler chickens all declined. The region with the greatest increase in animal water use (by percentage) was in the Altamaha region, and the greatest decline in animal water use was in the Coastal region.

https://www.gawater.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/GWC_Watering_GA_Report.pdf

The three named uses add up to 29.5 MLD, which is 129% the total capacity of the Lafayette water system production capacity. 😬

[–] Dogiedog64@lemmy.world 10 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

You do know that multiple things can be bad at once, right? Like, yes, agriculture uses an ABHORRENT amount of water, but we at least get food out of it. What do we get out of datacenters? Chatbots that drive people insane and endless worthless slop. Both are bad.

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[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Holy whataboutism, Batman! 🤦🏻

Let's say, for the sake of not getting bogged down, that it's an agreed upon fact that animal agriculture is wholly unnecessary.

That still doesn't make AI data centers necessary OR their monstrous misuse of increasingly scarce critical resources acceptable.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

The datacenter is using enough water to lower the local water pressure. Defending them is honestly disgusting.

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[–] Nautalax@lemmy.world 13 points 19 hours ago (4 children)

~30 ft subsidence at a California farm from extraction of the groundwater. Agricultural use is immense and wipes out historic rivers, lakes, even seas and slowly replenished groundwater reserves and something like 40% of water used is wasted because the sun just evaporates it before it used by the crops.

Everyone (agricultural or data center) would be far less wasteful if they had to at least pay for the true value of the water they’re extracting in their local area, i.e. a lot more if it’s scarcer/from slowly replenishing sources. Though that would probably result in a lot of economic relocation to wetter areas as many business models in dry areas become unviable.

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[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 18 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

And nothing will happen to them.

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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 6 points 17 hours ago

And it has NOTHING todo with corruption, I resent the insinuation! Everyone knows that since trump all government corruption disappeared overnight, like magic.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 24 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

the mistake was getting caught

[–] EatYourOrach@lemmy.ca 6 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

I was thinking the same thing, but from a PR perspective, getting caught helps normalize the obscenity.

30 million gallons and it's a "mistake." Next time it'll be 25 million and hey, at least that's not as bad. After that it'll be 40 million and it's "sure that's a lot but not too much more than usual. Besides you took a shower this morning so Both Sides amirite? Now let me explain in little words how condensation works..."

there were no consequences for exceeding peak limits

imo, that's the lesson. I mean you're probably right, but our Lords and Masters are super performative about their resource extraction grabs.

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[–] Eternal192@anarchist.nexus 25 points 23 hours ago (6 children)

30 million gallons of water... you know with all that money that they are throwing at these data centers, they could solve world hunger or at least alleviate it in America, cure cancer, do something for the environment like reforestation especially in the desert parts of America and there are methods do it but no their unwavering focus is on something that makes that will make everything worse! More heat, faster resource depletion and destruction of environment around these data centers, like for who is this supposed to make life better? if you immediately thought of the terminator then yeah they'll be fine but us? we are so fucked if this keeps going.

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[–] kylie_kraft@lemmy.world 158 points 1 day ago (1 children)

corporations are people until crimes

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