Name: Data Center Deluge: What You Actually Need to Know
Start: 2026-05-12T15:15:00-0500
End: 2026-05-12T16:45:00-0500

Welcome to River Rally 2026

Data Center Deluge: What You Actually Need to Know

Tuesday May 12, 2026 3:15pm - 4:45pm CDT

Camino Real

The entire water sector has been buzzing with the explosive growth of data centers and what it means for water supply, quality, long-term planning, and its impacts on our communities and ecosystems. In this panel, get a lay of the land from a range of speakers who are researching data center impacts, partnering with big tech to improve water management challenges, and tackling local and state processes to ensure communities are at the table when data center proposals crop up in their backyards.

Speakers

Ryan Anderson

Staff Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center

Ryan drafts motions and briefs, and conducts legal research, developing case strategies and legal arguments in SELC matters in her home state of Alabama. She lives and works in Birmingham, where she is originally from.

Ellen Kohler, JD, MS

Director of Applied Research and Policy, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania

Ellen joins the Water Center after serving as the Program Director for Water Resources at the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center. Her work there focused on water resource management issues challenging communities in the mid-Atlantic region, particularly supporting... Read More →

Margaret Cook, PhD

Vice President, Water & Community Resilience, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)

With a strong foundation in engineering, policy, and the water-energy-climate nexus, Dr. Cook has successfully collaborated with diverse stakeholders to address critical challenges in these sectors, co-developing programs with communities and prioritizing those with greatest need. Her... Read More →

Tuesday May 12, 2026 3:15pm - 4:45pm CDT
Camino Real Westin Riverwalk Wan Antonio: 420 W Market St, San Antonio, TX 78205

Sessions, Emerging Leaders and Emerging Issues

River Rally 2026

Ryan Anderson

Ellen Kohler, JD, MS

Margaret Cook, PhD

Attendees (47)

Get help with the event

River Rally 2026

Ryan Anderson

Ellen Kohler, JD, MS

Margaret Cook, PhD

Attendees (47)

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