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The Newsmax show Finnerty pulled back a curtain this week that a lot of people in small towns already suspected: America’s AI data‑center boom can come with a cost for neighbors. Host Rob Finnerty interviewed real‑estate attorney James Clifton and U.S. Air Force environmental specialist Kristen Meghan about worrying local reports — low or missing water, possible health complaints, and what residents say feels like a bypassing of local control. If you live near a planned hyperscale data center, you should listen up.
What Finnerty’s guests said — and why it matters
On Finnerty, James Clifton laid out complaints from homeowners who say their water pressure dropped or water disappeared after nearby data‑center construction. Kristen Meghan described environmental and health worries tied to industrial-scale projects. Those are serious allegations. They map onto recent reporting showing some data centers use huge amounts of water for cooling and power support. This isn’t just noise from a few neighbors — local officials and utilities have found unaccounted millions of gallons in some cases.
The hard numbers: water use and strained services
Independent reporting shows a pattern worth worrying about. In Georgia, a data‑center campus was linked to nearly 29 million gallons of unaccounted water after residents noticed low pressure. Other coverage in California and national pieces point to thousands or millions of gallons used by large campuses and to gaps in transparency. Data centers need power and cooling. Cooling often means water. When clustered in one region, those needs can stress wells, municipal systems, and even local public health services.
Credibility matters — but so does common sense
Let’s be clear. Some of the more dramatic claims on air, especially sweeping geoengineering assertions, have been questioned by fact‑checkers. Guests like Kristen Meghan have contested credibility on some points, so reporters and regulators should seek documents and records before accepting every claim. Still, contested credibility does not erase real people without water or real pressure on local utilities. The sensible reaction is not to shout “conspiracy!” but to demand metering, permits, and proof from companies building these mega‑campuses.
Fixes we can agree on: transparency, local control, accountability
Conservative or liberal, urban or rural, Americans should expect their local government to protect their water, health, and property. Start with clear fixes: require accurate metering and public reporting of water use; tighten permitting and environmental reviews for hyperscale data centers; pause approvals in water‑stressed regions until studies are done; and make companies pay to restore any damaged service. If Big Tech wants to build its AI empires on our backyards, it should at least do it with full disclosure and respect for local residents.
