OUR DAILY THREAD: A Tale Of Two Canaries
Roasted birds
THE SET-UP: Fayetteville, Georgia and Corpus Christi, Texas are the canaries.
Fayetteville is home to “one of the largest data center developments in the country, covering 615 acres with plans for up to 16 buildings” and, Politico reports, “most months it’s the No. 1 consumer of water in the county.”
Corpus Christi is “a major petrochemical hub, and the largest industrial consumer of water in the area, according to permit statistics obtained by Inside Climate News, is a joint Exxon Mobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation plastics plant.”
On May 1st, Fayetteville city officials asked “all its water system customers to help conserve water by generally reducing water usage and by following the usage tips,” including “restricting all outdoor watering from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m., applying mulch around plants, covering swimming pools, and limiting overall household use.”
The residents of Corpus Christi are, WIRED reports, “already under restrictions for their water use, including limits on lawn watering and car washing.” City officials also “said last week that the city is set to reach a Level 1 drought emergency — what it defines as 180 days of water demand outpacing supply — by September.”
Fayetteville and entire state of Georgia are already there.
Taken together, the two exemplify the trade-offs currently being made between public and private interests. In both cases, the thirst for profits is (pun intended) trumping the public’s demand for readily available water. In fact, both Big Tech and Big Oil have Trump to thank for not only elevating their interests in a series of constitutionally dubious Executive Orders, but also for removing anthropogenic climate change as a regulatory concern and, frankly, as a topic of public discourse.
But that’s the thing about the changing climate. Out of mind might feel “out of sight” (a la the 1970s) if you are in a business that pollutes the climate. And Trump does seem to love businesses that pollute the climate. Trump is so committed to so-called “clean, beautiful coal,” he’s lavished at least $525 million on his petulant effort to revive an industry that had been dying a natural death.
Not coincidentally, the hyperscaling of A.I.-focused data centers is his stated reason for pulling coal from the ash heap of history. And there is no question A.I. demands a lot of energy. A team of researchers at Cornell released their projections last November:
The team found that, by 2030, the current rate of AI growth would annually put 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the emissions equivalent of adding 5 to 10 million cars to U.S. roadways.
…and…
It would also drain 731 to 1,125 million cubic meters of water per year – equal to the annual household water usage of 6 to 10 million Americans.
It’s a double-whammy, too, because the emissions are likely to exacerbate the extreme weather that currently has most of Georgia and Florida in a drought and, predictably, that has translated into an unprecedented surge in wildfires. Per The New York Times:
The fires are driven by a widespread drought gripping the Southeast. Virtually all of Georgia and 94 percent of Florida is in a state of drought ranked by the U.S. Drought Monitor as “severe” or worse.
Georgia and other Southeast states are home to much of the nation’s wood production, in the form of sprawling timber plantations used for paper and lumber. Worldwide, research has found that timber plantations can be more flammable than native forests, depending upon how they are managed.
That trend hasn’t shown up yet in the American Southeast, but fires in the region are becoming more frequent, research has shown. Scientists suspect that’s a result of climate change.
Climate change is also stalking the people of Corpus Christi:
Corpus Christi’s water supplies come overwhelmingly from surface water sources. Two of the most important local sources — the Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi — have reached critically low levels over the past few years as drought has gripped the region. As of Tuesday, they were sitting at 7.4 percent full and 8.7 percent full, respectively.
And, WIRED added, the problem is far more daunting along the banks of the Colorado River:
In February, following a winter of record-breaking heat, snowpack in various mountain ranges across the American West reached record lows. March came in even hotter, smashing records in states across the region.
“What happened in March was unprecedented and stunning and disturbing and out of this world, frankly — we had temperatures the likes of which we have never seen and couldn’t have happened without human-caused climate change,” said Brad Udall, a senior water and climate researcher at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center. “We had a crummy snowpack that went from crummy to god-awful in three weeks.”
This snowmelt crisis is having dire impacts on the Colorado River, one of the most crucial water sources in the West, which provides water for 40 million people across seven states. River flow in some areas on the Colorado had slowed to a trickle last week, thanks to the early snowmelt this year.
Udall is right about the month of March. Here‘s Climate Central’s analysis:
Overall, the U.S. saw unprecedented temperatures in March, with an average anomaly — or difference from normal — of 5.8°F across 192 cities.
While the eastern U.S. experienced above-average temperatures, a record-shattering heat wave anchored over the West Coast drove the overall national trend.
Eighty cities experienced one of their top five warmest March temperatures on record. On average, stations have data dating back to 1893.
Elevated Climate Shift Index values occurred in eight out of nine U.S. Climate Regions, including the Southwest, West, Northern Rockies and Plains, South, Southeast, Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Northeast.
March 2026 was exceptionally warm, mirroring the long-term March warming trends, which show that nearly all cities analyzed have warmed since 1970, consistent with findings from Climate Central’s 2025 Winter Package.
It would be tempting to call March was a “harbinger of things to come,” but it is already here:
‘It’s Like It Didn’t Even Rain’: Drought Persists in South Dakota
https://www.agriculture.com/it-s-like-it-didn-t-even-rain-drought-persists-in-south-dakota-11971148
South Dakota begins to issue drought warnings, orders
https://www.keloland.com/news/capitol-news-bureau/south-dakota-begins-to-issue-drought-warnings-orders/
Drought, low snowpack raise prevent plant questions in Nebraska
https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/drought-low-snowpack-raise-prevent-plant-questions-in-nebraska/
Record low snowpack leads to water supply, drought concerns across Washington
https://komonews.com/news/local/record-low-snowpack-leads-to-water-supply-drought-concerns-across-washington-wildfire-season-agriculture-farming-growth-heat-fire-risk-river-resevoir-summer-smoke-snow-rain-storm-supply-weather-forecast
Oregon declares drought for three more counties across state
https://capitalpress.com/2026/05/12/oregon-declares-drought-for-three-more-counties-across-state/
As a Colorado Aquifer Runs Low, Dangerous Heavy Metals Threaten Rural Communities’ Drinking Water
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08052026/colorado-drought-threatens-rural-drinking-water/
Colorado’s Drought Task Force ramps up response to record-breaking conditions
https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/11/colorados-drought-task-force-response-record-breaking-conditions/
Officials urge voluntary water cuts as drought persists in Utah
https://www.fox13now.com/news/utah-drought/officials-urge-voluntary-water-cuts-as-drought-persists-in-utah
Emergency fishing limit increase at Utah reservoirs amid drought
https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/emergency-fishing-limit-utah-reservoirs-drought/
York County implements mandatory water-use restrictions amid drought
https://www.wbtv.com/video/2026/05/12/york-county-implements-mandatory-water-use-restrictions-amid-drought/
Drought continues to impact water quality and river levels across Florida
https://www.wmnf.org/drought-continues-impact-water-quality-river-levels-florida-wmnf/
Water emergencies spread across South Texas as drought worsens. Here’s where
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/south-texas/article/rockport-water-emergency-22254736.php
In parched Texas, a state fund to boost water projects falls almost $3 billion short of demand
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/05/08/texas-swift-water-development-board-falls-short/
Inside the Texas Water Crisis Pitting Residents Against Industry
https://capitalandmain.com/inside-the-texas-water-crisis-pitting-residents-against-industry
Detroit Lake reaches ‘full pool’ ahead of summer despite drought
https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news/regional/detroit-lake-full-pool-drought-summer-water-levels/article_fb42126f-fedb-5237-93ea-953884ab3809.html
Over 80% of Virginia experiencing severe drought conditions
https://virginiamercury.com/briefs/over-80-of-virginia-experiencing-severe-drought-conditions/
Drought conditions in Mass. worsen after brief improvement
https://www.masslive.com/news/2026/05/drought-conditions-in-mass-worsen-after-brief-improvement.html