Construction is ongoing on the first phase of Microsoft’s data center project in Mount Pleasant in Wisconsin's Racine County. (Photo courtesy of Microsoft, via Wisconsin Public Radio)

Great Lakes states should take steps to protect water resources from increasing demand from data centers and other industries, according to a new report.

The analysis by the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes found data centers may withdraw as much as 150 billion gallons of water nationally over the next five years. The report said that’s the equivalent of water consumed by 4.6 million households.

“This demand is increasing in this region, and the states need to be planning for it,” said Helena Volzer, the report’s author.

The report found that Great Lakes states are largely unprepared to meet growing

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