The waters of the Truckee River rush by the banks of Chrissie Caughlin Park on a sweltering summer afternoon in Reno, Nevada. The headwaters of the Truckee River begin in Tahoe and flow all the way to Pyramid Lake, home of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.
For Autumn Harry, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal member and co-founder of the Water Over Data Alliance, water is central to the debate around data centers. The high-computing facilities that support AI have become a flashpoint for communities across the country, and a growing voice in the debate is that of tribal communities.
“As more and more data centers get approved in the upper Truckee River — especially in Storey County — my big question is ‘where is that water coming from and how is that going to impact the endangered and threatened fish species that are within the lake?'” Harry said…