A 330 MW data center wanted to buy a farm, switch off the irrigation, and drink the difference — California's most powerful irrigation district said no, so it sued
A proposed 330 MW data center in Imperial Valley sought to obtain roughly 287 million gallons of water from the Imperial Irrigation District by halting irrigation on nearby farmland. The district denied the request, citing regulatory restrictions and redirected the developer to the City of Imperial, which is already in a legal dispute with the project. The developer has filed a petition in Imperial County Superior Court seeking a court order to force the district to sell the water, raising broader questions about reallocating agricultural water rights to industrial uses.
- ▪The Imperial Irrigation District refused to supply about 880 acre‑feet of water per year to the data center, invoking Regulation 21 which limits new connections near potable water supplies.
- ▪The developer, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, argues the project will have “zero impact” on the Colorado River by stopping irrigation on the farmland it would use.
- ▪A petition filed in Imperial County Superior Court asks a judge to compel the district to sell the water, potentially setting a precedent for reassigning fallowed farmland water to industry.
- ▪The City of Imperial is already litigating the data center’s $10 billion project over alleged CEQA violations and insufficient public notice, complicating the water dispute.
- ▪If granted, the court order could affect water allocation policies across the region, despite the relatively small volume of water involved compared to the district’s total entitlement.
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| Publication time | Tue, 28 Jul 2026 23:30:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-28T23:36:02.206Z |
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| Cluster | txfK3gYzG--g · 1 stories |
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Pro A 330 MW data center wanted to buy a farm, switch off the irrigation, and drink the difference — California's most powerful irrigation district said no, so it sued News By Rahim Amir Published 28 July 2026 The 287 million gallons are a rounding error. The precedent is not. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: May Cloud/Unsplash) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter IVCM petition asked Imperial County judge to overturn IID's refusal to sell it roughly 287 million gallons to cool a proposed 330 MW data centerThe company pledged in writing as…
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