Comment by gruez

>The key problem is that data center evaporative cooling permanently removes water from local systems, unlike irrigation or golf courses where some water returns to groundwater, evaporated cooling water is lost to the atmosphere and must be continuously replenished.

But farms and golf courses suffer from evaporation as well, so that argument really only means you can discount farm/golf water usage by some fraction (eg. 50%). Considering the consumption figures are 0.08% for datecenters and the 8% for golf courses, the argument still holds up.