The Great Lakes Water Conference returns Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, with a question that now touches nearly every community in the region: how much water does artificial intelligence need — and where will it come from?

The 26th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference, themed “Water, Technology, and Law,” runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon ET as a live virtual webinar. It is hosted by the University of Toledo College of Law and its Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

Registration is required, and attendees should register by Tuesday, Nov. 10. The conference is free for the public. Attorneys seeking continuing legal education can earn two hours of Ohio CLE for $65.

Four national panelists will take up the fast-growing intersection of water, technology and law — starting with the data centers that power AI. Those facilities use enormous amounts of water to cool the processors behind artificial intelligence, raising new questions about supply, siting and regulation in a region defined by the Great Lakes.

David Strifling of Marquette Law will discuss PFAS in biosolids and stormwater, a persistent contamination challenge for communities and water systems. Ana Barros of the University of Illinois will look ahead to a water-secure future. Other sessions will cover groundwater and the technology used to monitor water consumption.

Evan Zoldan, director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes, will deliver opening remarks.

For Toledo-area residents, the stakes are close to home. Lake Erie is both a drinking-water source and an economic engine, and decisions about how much water new technology consumes — and how that use is monitored and regulated — will shape the region for years to come.

The conference is virtual, so attendees can join from anywhere. Details and registration are available on the UToledo conference page, and the university has more background in UToledo News. Register by Tuesday, Nov. 10, to reserve a spot for Friday’s free webinar.

Featured photo: A sailboat at sunrise on Lake Erie, Sandusky, Ohio. Photo by Paul Danese, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.