Data Center Gold Rush: Diving into Water Demands

Most of the recent articles and webinars on data centers focus on their energy use, but there is another significant concern:  Water use.  The reality is, in this modern gold rush, there are more proposed hyperscale data centers than our water resources can support. These proposed projects don’t fit into our permitting and regulatory systems.  CURE is a leader on the rapidly emerging issues around data center development. 

As leaders on the rapidly emerging issues around data center development in the upper Midwest and nationally, CURE's Peg Furshong and Sara Mooradian will share lessons learned about how a lack of transparency harms communities across the country. The reality is, in this modern gold rush, there are winners and losers, and currently there are more proposed hyperscale data centers than our infrastructure and resources can support. These proposed projects don’t fit into our permitting and regulatory systems. We will look at why this matters for our communities, with a focus specifically on water.
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Video now posted!  

Here's CURE's fact sheet on Data Centers.

20251108_data-centers-in-mn.pdf
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CURE is sponsoring a further series of webinars on a variety of topics relating to data centers - follow the link below to sign up!  

Data Centers - the 800 Megawatt Gorilla in the Room

Peg Furshong and Sara Mooradian

Sarah Mooradian                                                                                        
Government Relations & Policy Director                                                                                                                                     
Sarah works on issues related to false climate solutions, rural electric cooperatives, siting and local power, clean transportation, and natural and working lands, participating in processes before state agencies like the Public Utilities Commission and at the state legislature. Previously, Sarah clerked for the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She has also worked on projects concerning tribal rights and land management, northern Minnesota mining, and New England’s surface water use.
Sarah is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with degrees in Journalism and Sociology and Vermont Law and Graduate School with a J.D. and a Master of Environmental Law and Policy. She is passionate about protecting the environment and believes that success comes, in part, from changing both public policy and societal attitudes about nature.
 
Peg Furshong
Constituent Relations & Special Projects
Peg is responsible for CURE’s Constituent Relations and Special Projects. These projects include water sustainability, landowner and community engagement for CURE’s NO Carbon Pipelines Campaign and coordinating outdoor engagement. Previously, Peg built the organization’s nature-based educational and experiential engagement programs, including initiatives like the Tallgrass Prairie BioBlitz and Freshwater Mussel Field Days. She also established CURE’s lasting partnership with the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program, where she continues to serve as a volunteer instructor.
Peg is a graduate from Montana State University-Billings with a Master of Science in Education Leadership with an emphasis in Information, Process & Communication (IPC).  She is a volunteer Commissioner for the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. In 2025, she was appointed to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Task Force on the Future of Minnesota’s Water.
 
CURE is a rurally based nonprofit that protects and restores resilient communities and landscapes by harnessing the power of the people who care.   Learn more about CURE here!