Data centers are being constructed at an unprecedentedly fast pace across the country. Their construction is often fast-tracked through generous tax incentives and permitting before communities or regulators fully understand the full effects on the local environment or economy. Data center moratoriums have been gaining traction across the country, and building on this momentum matters more than ever.

A single hyperscale facility can consume upward of 8 million gallons of water per year for cooling, placing direct pressure on regions already experiencing drought and climate-driven water stress. As climate change intensifies heatwaves and disrupts historic rainfall patterns, water that farmers and residents depend on is increasingly being redirected toward industrial cooling systems, with little public input into that tradeoff. On the electricity side, data centers already account for roughly 4.4% of U.S. power consumption — a share projected to climb toward 12% by 2028 — straining grids and driving up utility costs for everyday households. Developers are increasingly targeting farmland specifically, rezoning agricultural land into data center campuses — a conversion that is essentially permanent. Once that land is gone, it does not return to food production.

Data center moratoriums do not aim to block progress; instead they provide time for communities, developers, researchers, and lawmakers to fully investigate the effects that a data center may have on local residents and ecosystems. Moratoriums give community members an opportunity to weigh in on zoning decisions currently being rushed through council votes. Counties that have already enacted moratoriums or strict ordinances have used that pause to negotiate better water-usage terms, protect agricultural zoning, and demand real transparency from developers before any shovel hits the ground. That's the model worth fighting for everywhere, including in your home state. Use this letter to urge your elected officials to support a data center moratorium.