The leader of the UK’s Green Party has called for a pause on the development of data centers in the country.

Zack Polanski said that new projects should not be approved, following the driest July on record and a lengthy drought.

“We need to slam the brakes on these energy-guzzling, water-guzzling data centers,” Polanski told the BBC while visiting the site of a proposed data center in East London.

“Essentially, we need basically a moratorium, other than local-scale data centers for the local community. At a time when three-quarters of the country are in drought, it is outrageous that these are being considered critical infrastructure.

“To most people, critical infrastructure means hospitals, water, electricity. It doesn’t mean artificial intelligence.”

The water consumption of data centers is a matter of debate. Newer AI facilities often use closed-loop systems with limited consumption, but others can consume significant amounts of water. Supplier Affinity Water, which covers data center hotspot Slough, told UK’s Parliament earlier this year that data center water usage remained a concern

“Data center demand for water for cooling purposes is variable, ranging from a few cubic meters up to potentially 10 million liters per day depending on size and recycling infrastructure… with some individual facilities requesting supplies of up to 35 liters per second, equivalent to the peak water demand of 3,500 homes. One proposal sought to consume 21ML/day, equivalent to the water needs of approximately 147,000 people.”

The industry uses less water than other sectors, including golf courses, but has seen record growth. The Water Research Centre consultancy in February said that it believes data centers in England use about 1.9bn liters of drinkable water a year, around 0.2 percent of the non-household market, but said that there was a “clear upward trend” in the use of water.

Ruling party Labour rejected the Green’s call for a moratorium, and said that it would impact jobs.

A government spokesperson said: “A pause on building new data centers would simply send investment and good jobs abroad, while leaving Britain dependent on overseas computing for the processing of sensitive health and defense data.

“Put simply: it would be a disaster for jobs and national security.

“That said, this does not mean a blank cheque for Big Tech or that every data center should be approved.

“Developers must plan to use clean power, use water responsibly, create British jobs and supply chains, and provide investment to the communities in which they are built.”