Mississippi River mayors call for water conservation protections amid growing data center demand

A group representing mayors from 10 states along the Mississippi River said they’re seeking regulation to help conserve water and “navigate the fast-growing AI data center economy.”

The plan that the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative announced Wednesday is to push in other states regulations modeled after legislation recently passed in Missouri, which bans the “mass exportation” of water. State lawmakers from Mississippi, Louisiana and Minnesota have committed to introducing similar bills, MRCTI said.

“As droughts persist and intense heat expands, the need to secure our water resources will only become more acute,” Sen. Derrick Simmons, a Democrat from Greenville, said at a press conference in Natchez during the group’s 15th annual meeting. “I am proud and eager to introduce a version of the Missouri bill that was enacted into law last year, and I hope to accomplish the same thing for Mississippi and get us closer to realizing a Mississippi River Compact.”

The group is modeling its Mississippi River Compact after the Great Lakes Compact, a 2008 agreement which Simmons said has kept the lakes’ water resources “secure and intact.” If enough states pass the export ban, the group can then push a federally recognized agreement through Congress, Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman said at the news conference.

“With last year’s passage in Missouri and now three more states committing to move the legislation forward, we only need three more states to move us to the congressional level,” Hoffman said.

Missouri’s 2025 legislation requires anyone withdrawing water from the state and exporting it more than 30 miles outside the state to have a permit. The law does not apply to bottled water or packaged water intended for single use.

MRCTI is a coalition, formed in 2012, made up of nearly 200 cities along the Mississippi River. Blytheville, Arkansas, Mayor Melisa Logan said Wednesday that 75% of the group’s member cities have been approached about hosting AI infrastructure. While usage amounts vary greatly, some research estimates that large data centers can use about 5 million gallons of water per day, largely for cooling, or the equivalent water use of a town of at least 10,000 people.