Meta expects its massive Richland Parish data center to consume roughly the same amount of water as the farmland it replaced.
That’s according to Henry Thornton, a regional community development manager with Meta who spoke about the data center project at the 2026 TEC Next Conference in Baton Rouge late last week.
The currently-under-construction facility, a more than $10 billion campus that Thornton described as the largest infrastructure investment in Meta’s history, will use water primarily to cool servers that power the company’s digital platforms and artificial intelligence systems.
Thornton said concerns about the data center’s water usage are among the most common questions Meta receives about the project, but he assured the audience of industry leaders the tech giant has designed its data centers to minimize consumption.
“We are very proud at Meta that we’ve developed a unique-to-us specially designed set of servers that can withstand very high temperatures—up to 96 degrees if needed—before they have to be cooled in order to reduce our energy and water usage,” Thornton said.
Projected water consumption at the Richland Parish facility is comparable to the site’s previous agricultural consumption, according to the Meta executive. The property, purchased by Meta in 2024, was previously irrigated cropland.
“We think we’re going to be using roughly the same number of gallons each year as the about 2,500 acres used when it was under irrigated agricultural cultivation,” Thornton said.
Meta is also building a new wastewater treatment facility in partnership with the town of Delhi and has pledged to offset its water consumption through various waterway restoration projects across Louisiana.
Thornton framed those efforts as part of Meta’s push to minimize its environmental footprint while bringing world-class tech infrastructure to a previously underinvested part of the state.
“We have a commitment to be water positive by 2030,” Thornton said. “That comes with investing in water restoration projects all across the nation, and especially here in Louisiana.”
Data center water consumption has become a growing concern nationwide as tech giants rapidly expand AI infrastructure, with critics warning such facilities can place significant strain on local water systems.
