Episode 71: Water Footprint of Data Centers
“When information is obscured, it is very disempowering and you cannot make good decisions if you are the potential host community and you are dealing with very experienced entities that are doing this all over the country and the world. ”
A conversation with Professor Melissa Scanlan (UW–Milwaukee Center for Water Policy and School of Freshwater Sciences) about data center water use, growth, and policy considerations. Released September 26, 2025.
guests on the show
Melissa Scanlan
Melissa K. Scanlan is the Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair in Water Policy, Professor, and the Director of the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences. Previously, she was a Visiting Professor at Boston College Law School, and a Professor at Vermont Law School. She served as Associate Dean of the Environmental Law Program and Director of the Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law School. She directed the Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship, a robust international forum for scholars to give and receive feedback on works in progress.
Prior to becoming a law professor, she represented non-profit, community groups and tribal government clients in high impact lawsuits, and shaped public policy in areas ranging from the Great Lakes Compact and water supply issues to enforcement and implementation of the Clean Water Act and the public trust doctrine. During that time, her peers selected her as a Wisconsin Super Lawyers' Rising Star (2006, 2007 and 2008).
Professor Scanlan brings an interdisciplinary approach to her work. She holds a Juris Doctorate and Master of Science in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with special distinction in water law. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in World Politics from the Catholic University of America, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
In her free time, she loves kayaking, keeping honeybees, and walking coastal trails. To access her publications, go to SSRN.
TRANSCRIPT
Coming soon