A Regional Playbook for Managing Data Center Impacts in the Great Lakes

March 2026

By: Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2026/03/data-center-playbook/
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Data Centers

This guide is intended for residents, community organizations, and local leaders to better understand data centers and their impacts. The guide explains how data centers use water and energy and the impact this has on the Great Lakes. The guide discusses the growing demand for data centers, transparency barriers, and water impacts. It also provides resources, including a community checklist, a guide to community benefit agreements, regional case examples, existing municipal ordinances, and public meetings and records.