Microsoft’s Lake Michigan Water Demand Ignites Transparency Fight in Racine

Community leaders and environmental groups question how much water Mount Pleasant’s new data center will draw from Lake Michigan

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D September 17, 2025

RB Photo/flickr [CC BY 2.0]

RACINE, WI- The yet-to-be-completed Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant is projected to use up to 2.8 million gallons of Lake Michigan water in 2026, city documents made public Sept. 17 by Racine officials. The documents, long battled for by environmentalists and local news outlets, indicate a water use that could escalate exponentially if Microsoft were to expand its presence in the region.

Those records say the company's demand for water may increase to more than 8.4 million gallons annually as Microsoft grows. The information was released only after a court battle. On Sept. 15, Midwest Environmental Advocates filed suit against the city of Racine, demanding records the group argued should have been released months earlier. Two days later, Racine released the long-awaited records to the group and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

To critics, Microsoft pointed out that its new facilities are designed to diminish reliance on city water.

"Our data center campus in Mount Pleasant leverages the latest and most innovative cooling technology available. In past data center designs, water has played a key role in data center cooling and humidification, but our new designs aim to eliminate this continuous need for municipal water for cooling," the company said in a statement.

"The bottom line is that this data center, and others we build in the future, will not require massive amounts of water."

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