They're small victories, the kind that are generally forgotten in a state hell-bent on development and careening toward the future.

But those who have been shouting for more transparency when it comes to the development of resource-consuming data centers in Nevada will take their victories where they find them.

They recently found them in Reno and Boulder City, cities at opposite ends of the state that share something in common when it comes to citizen concern over the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. They are places where residents take great pride in their sense of community and quality of life. They're not opposed to change, but generally bristle at threats to livability.

After watching the Reno City Council move to approve multiple data center projects at a time when cities across the nation are pushing back against the digital gold rush, environmental activists and just plain neighbors repeatedly spoke up.

The council that had been swift to embrace the developments recently called for a pause to further study the issue. It's not a stretch to say members of the council felt the heat after approving earlier projects.

In Boulder City, the Townsite Solar 2 data center project has drawn locals' attention and is at last making headlines. On May 20, the planning commission voted 6 to 1 against the Townsite Solar 2 data center project. Its recommendation for denial will complicate matters for the city council. "People are definitely paying attention," a Townsite Solar 2 official told a reporter.

Most of the Nevadans I've spoken with aren't railing against technology. They're not Neanderthals or what I like to call "professional againsters." They're concerned about the voracious energy and water consumption and the heat mitigation efforts associated with the projects.

A recent report from NV Energy acknowledges that data centers will account for a majority of electricity consumption in the next two decades. And those who closely watch the industry know that companies are pursuing alternative energy sources to power their developments.

By now, I realize people have grown tired of me stating the obvious — that Nevada is the driest state in the country. Courting industries that consume great amounts of water is controversial in other states — but a sign of insanity in this one.

It's no secret that Lake Mead is at record low levels and the Colorado River's Lower Basin states are slashing their water allocation. Meanwhile, snowpacks from the Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevada are depleted.

With all that in mind, you might think the state's political class would have data center development on the front burner in an election year. Water, after all, crosses all party lines. You don't have to scratch far to find anxiety on the issue from Democrats and Republicans alike.

I've found the relative silence from candidates on the topic intriguing and made it the subject of last week's column. That resulted in responses ranging from detailed political explanations to giving me a good scolding for not crediting a candidate as a crusader on this issue.

Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a Democratic candidate for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, says she gets a lot of questions about data centers on the campaign trail. She offered insights she gleaned from a dozen years in the state Legislature. It was during an economically tumultuous time that saw the state first embrace data center development and lavish the industry with handsome tax abatements and other inducements.

After underscoring that data center policy in Nevada is fundamentally a state issue, she says, "First and foremost, I believe the data centers need to be paying their own way in Nevada. There are laws that give abatements if an entity is considered to be part of an economic development plan. But as a legislator I found that a number of businesses were taking advantage of these tax abatements. So, I brought legislation to try to stem some of the abuses of the abatements that were being used. However, a number of the abatements are still in existence and really ought to be reconsidered."

Abatements that made sense during a recession are no longer a necessary incentive. "The market itself is providing an incentive that didn't exist in 2015 when a number of those tax abatements were set up. So, certainly, revisiting the sweetheart deal that they have makes a lot of sense."

The definition of a data center has changed, too. Where co-location centers (multiple companies renting servers on one site) once defined the developments, massive AI data centers present dramatic and immediate challenges.

"I don't think anyone in 2015 was anticipating AI to be where it is right now," Benitez-Thompson says. "We weren't envisioning AI as we think of it right now, and certainly there needs to be a new consideration for the laws with the current environment with contemporary AI in mind."

On the campaign trail, she has found "Many Nevadans feel that we've gone out of balance, and that this policy's out of whack. And so, it makes a lot of sense to revisit these processes, because nothing was really designed specifically for an AI conversation.

"I think we have to assure the public that we are looking at everything through this new AI lens."

Nevadans might not fully appreciate the complexities of data center development, but their concerns are valid. They need to be heard and respected at the highest levels of government — and soon.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family's Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.