Deep inside a report on the future of water in central Ohio is this warning: Industrial demands for water will skyrocket at the same time experts expect farmers will need to regularly irrigate their fields during the critical growing period of July through September.

The competing demands of agriculture and industry – particularly the 130 data centers in central Ohio already consuming millions of gallons of water a day to cool computer equipment – would require billions of gallons of water daily, according to a 15-county Central Ohio Regional Water Study released this year by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Industrial demand alone is estimated to increase across the 15-county region by approximately 120% between 2021 to 2050 – to 250 million gallons a day by 2050. Agricultura

See Full Page