Inyokern AI data center plan stirs water fight in overdrafted Indian Wells Valley
Ridgecrest residents and officials question how much cooling water a proposed Inyokern AI data center would use as developers seek a fast-track state exemption and promise minimal draw.
Inyokern AI data center plan stirs water fight in overdrafted Indian Wells Valley
Key Takeaways
- Residents and Ridgecrest officials are pushing back on a proposed AI data center in Inyokern over water use.
- The developer says the facility would use 98% less water than traditional data centers.
- A Ridgecrest councilman cited estimates as high as 5 million gallons a day, though final use isn’t clear.
- The project is seeking a California Energy Commission small power plant exemption to speed permitting.
Jennifer Slayton lives in Ridgecrest and pays close attention to her water bill. "We can't afford hundreds of thousands a year to be added to our water bill so we can subsidize a large business that wants to come here," Slayton said at a recent meeting. The plan is an AI data center on the edge of Inyokern, in a basin where residents already talk about wells going deeper and lawns going to gravel. That is why this one matters up here, for towns that run on one aquifer and pay for every extra gallon.
The wind pushed grit across Inyokern Road, pinging off truck fenders.
What the developer says
The developer’s website pitches a 238,000‑square‑foot, AI‑ready campus with a cooling system it says uses 98% less water than a standard setup. The company also compares the expected use to mining in the area, saying the data center would draw 57 times less water than those operations. They say independent studies found less‑than‑significant effects in all environmental categories, including water and noise. A thirsty load for a desert basin.
What local officials asked
Ridgecrest City Councilman Skip Gorman said the big question is cooling. "The water issue has to do with many things you read about how thirsty data centers are. And data centers are particularly thirsty," Gorman said. He added he’d heard estimates up to five million gallons a day, but acknowledged there is not a firm number yet. "You can drive through town you won't see any front lawns. Water is becoming precious now."
Where the review stands
Rather than a full environmental impact report, the developer applied for a small power plant exemption at the California Energy Commission. If granted, it could let the project move faster on permits. That choice drew fire from water researcher Iris Stewart‑Frey of Santa Clara University, who said the state lacks solid public numbers on data center water use and questioned why the project wouldn’t go through a full review. Residents have flooded the docket with comments, many focused on groundwater draw and generator noise close to homes and schools.
Why growers care
Kern County sits on a patchwork of basins that don’t behave the same. Inyokern and Ridgecrest lean on a desert aquifer already called stressed by local agencies, and valley-floor crops do not depend on it. But water fights and rate hikes have a way of crossing county boards and setting precedents on who pays for imported supplies or new pipelines. Almond growers watching power and water costs climb read stories like this and do the math on the next cut, even if the basin line is miles away. And they’re not wrong to.
"You can drive through town you won't see any front lawns," Gorman said. "The quality of the water has never been very good."
Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Agriculture Desk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.