- Micron’s expansion could more than double its daily water usage
- Environmental information reveals large daily discharge volumes back into the system
- Residents and farms depend on the same aquifers as industrial users
Micron is expanding its semiconductor production in Boise, Idaho, with a $50 billion investment that includes two new fabrication facilities.
While its existing plant already uses 4.7 million gallons of water each day, the first new plant would push daily usage to 10.2 million gallons — enough to fill about 15.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools every single day.
A second, slightly smaller plant is also planned, which would add even more water demand on top of that figure.
Where Micron currently gets its water and why it matters
The company currently draws water from three different sources to keep its Boise operations running, pumping millions of gallons directly out of the ground each day using its own water rights.
It also receives water from the Nampa Meridian Irrigation District, which draws from the Boise River, and also purchases treated water from Veolia, a private municipal water utility.
A 2024 environmental impact statement for the first expansion revealed that the new plant would use 5.5 million gallons daily and discharge about 2.9 million gallons back into the system.
When asked how much water the new factories will use and where that water will come from, Micron declined to provide specific answers, with a company spokesman offering only a general statement about water efficiency commitments and conservation goals.
Micron has pledged to achieve a 75% water saving globally by the year 2030 through reuse and recycling programs.
However, the company did not explain how that goal applies to the new Boise plants or where the additional water will be sourced.
Veolia also did not respond to questions about how much water it supplies to Micron from its treatment plants.
Why water availability is a sensitive issue in the Idaho desert
Boise is located in the high desert of southwestern Idaho, where water is a limited and contested resource.
In the 1990s, Micron faced significant public criticism when its manufacturing operations caused a sharp drop in the local water table.
The state established a groundwater management area around the company in 1994 to monitor and oversee water rights.
Even today, the Idaho Department of Water Resources can only see a partial picture of Micron’s total water use through its permitted rights.
The company has not filed an environmental impact study for the second plant, leaving regulators and the public completely unaware of its total future water needs.
Idahoans rely on the same aquifers that Micron pumps from, and any significant drop in water levels will affect homes, farms and businesses throughout the region.
Micron’s silence about where it will find billions of gallons of new water isn’t just a lack of transparency; it is a gamble on a resource that the desert cannot easily replace.
The company’s plans are driven by AI demand, but AI doesn’t run on water; people and crops do, and they have no backup plan if the wells run dry.
Via BoiseDev
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