Alliance for the Great Lakes examines growing water demands, election impacts

As data centers, agricultural irrigation and critical minerals mining place growing demands on the Great Lakes, one environmental advocacy organization is raising concerns about the region’s freshwater resources.

An August 2025 report from the Alliance for the Great Lakes projected that hyperscale data centers would withdraw 150.4 billion gallons of water between 2025 and 2030, equivalent to the annual water use of 4.6 million U.S. households.

The report drew attention to a growing debate over water consumption by data centers, an issue that has also become a point of contention in communities across the country.

“I hadn’t seen anything like it,” Alliance for the Great Lakes media director Don Carr told WTIP. “I think if you read any of the coverage about the election or what people are talking about, one of the motivating, animating factors on the ground was people did not want data centers in their communities.”

The Great Lakes face numerous environmental challenges, including invasive species, harmful algal blooms and plastic pollution. Climate change is adding pressure through warming water temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.

“The last thing I’ll say about all those issues that I listed was there’s a whole umbrella too about climate change over all this, and it makes all this worse. It turbocharges algal blooms. It makes warm water or cold water warmer, so invasive species can move in and push out cold water species.” Carr said. 

Carr also pointed to the relationship between plastic pollution and fossil fuels, which are used in plastic production.

For Carr, the importance of protecting the lakes is something he came to understand after moving to Minnesota 10 years ago. Before then, he had never set foot in a Great Lake.

Carr said he hadn’t realized “the amount of emotion and the amount of love that people who grew up in the Great Lakes region have for the lakes.”

That passion, he said, makes it easier to engage residents in efforts to protect the region’s freshwater resources.

“We don’t actually have that much trouble activating people when we talk to them about the problems that are happening with the lakes, whether it be algal blooms or invasive species, because the people that live and rely on the lakes are very engaged in all the issues,” Carr said.

Headquartered in Chicago, the Alliance is a nonprofit with staff throughout the Great Lakes region, including in Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. Carr splits his time between Minneapolis and the North Shore.

The Alliance traces its origins to environmental advocacy efforts in Chicago in the 1970s and has since expanded across the Great Lakes region.

The organization is now examining how the results of the 2026 midterm elections could shape environmental policy in the Great Lakes region, including efforts to address water consumption

The organization will host a webinar Dec. 8 to discuss the election results and their potential implications for the Great Lakes.

“We’re a nonpartisan organization, so we try and keep focused on what’s exactly happening on the ground, what’s happening in Great Lakes communities, and how can we help the people that are being affected by the problems that affect the Great Lakes,” Carr said.

WTIP spoke to Carr about the Alliance of the Great Lakes, the midterm elections, and his experience aboard the Blue Heron research vessel. The audio of that conversation is available below.

Josh Hinke November 13, 2026