Date: May 7th, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM ET (11:00 AM CT)
Location: Zoom

Webinar Topic: Great Lakes Freshwater Symposium: Powering Progress or Peril? The Hidden Environmental Costs of AI-Data Centers

The proliferation of AI-data centers across the United States is causing concern in communities and challenges for local governments. The Center for Water Policy at UW-Milwaukee recently released a report that outlines a model with draft legislative language that can be customized by states and local governments to suit their needs. Tressie Kamp, assistant director of the Center for Water Policy, will share the findings, which investigate the environmental footprint of data centers in the United States, with a focus on water usage.

The Center details its research using public government records and corporate sustainability reports from leading technology companies to assess the environmental impacts of data centers. They then identify legislative options for sub-national governments to consider, informed by a review of 50 states in the United States.

This event is part of the online Great Lakes Freshwater Symposium series, a partnership between the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, the Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium and Council of the Great Lakes Region.

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