Chairman of the Board
Gary LaDrido
Chairman of the Board, WaterRising Institute & WaterHouse.
Chairman of the Board
Chairman of the Board, WaterRising Institute & WaterHouse.
“Water has always been the lifeblood of our world — nourishing agriculture, sustaining growth, and powering nature for centuries. Today, it is equally essential as the lifeblood of AI and data centers, cooling the advanced infrastructure that fuels artificial intelligence and drives the next era of innovation and economic growth.”
About Gary LaDrido
Gary LaDrido serves as Chairman of the Board of WaterRising Institute — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with United Nations ECOSOC Special Consultative Status, founded in response to the Flint water crisis — and of its global platform, WaterHouse. As Chairman, Gary helps guide the organization's strategy, governance, and partnerships, supporting the board's oversight of a platform that connects capital, intelligence, creativity, infrastructure, and communities to build long-term water stability and to position water as one of the defining strategic assets of the century.
Water & the Data-Center Economy
As AI and data centers grow, so does scrutiny of their water use. The full picture is more encouraging — and more investable — than the headlines suggest.
All U.S. data centers together account for roughly 0.2% of national water consumption — versus about 80% for agriculture. The real issue is local concentration, not national scale.
Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta have each pledged to replenish more water than they consume by 2030. Google already returned 64% of its freshwater use in 2024.
Microsoft's newest designs use ~80% less water than earlier generations, with closed-loop, chip-level cooling that virtually eliminates evaporative loss.
Data centers power the internet, cloud, and AI — supporting jobs, services, and innovation whose economic value far outweighs the resource cost.
And the choice is rarely water versus nothing. Liquid cooling is often far more energy-efficient than air cooling — which consumes more electricity, and therefore more water, elsewhere. The task is to balance water and energy scarcity intelligently, not to abandon the infrastructure that powers the future.
Sources: U.S. data-center water share — EESI; agricultural water use — USDA/USGS; water-positive pledges & replenishment — Google, Microsoft, Amazon & Meta sustainability reporting; cooling efficiency & WUE — Microsoft, World Economic Forum.
Chairman of the Board of WaterRising Institute & WaterHouse, supporting governance and strategic direction.
Advancing the thesis that water is essential, undercapitalized infrastructure — and a strategic asset class.
Helping build the platform connecting capital, policy, creativity, and communities around water.
For board, media, or partnership inquiries, reach the WaterRising Institute team.
