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The Thirst of Big Tech: Data Centers’ Growing Water Consumption
Data centers, the backbone of our digital world, are consuming water at an alarming rate. These facilities, which power everything from cloud computing to artificial intelligence, require massive amounts of water for cooling their heat-generating equipment. Recent reports indicate that the scale of this consumption is staggering.
Google’s global data center portfolio used approximately 5.2 billion gallons (19.8 billion liters) of water in 2021. Microsoft’s data centers each consumed roughly 33 million gallons of water in the last fiscal year. On average, a mid-sized data center in the U.S. uses about 300,000 gallons of water a day, equivalent to the water consumption of 100,000 homes.
The environmental implications of this water usage are significant, especially in water-stressed regions. Data centers draw water from 90% of the country’s watersheds, making them one of the top ten commercial industries for water consumption in the United States. This extensive use affects local water resources and exacerbates global water stress.
Tech giants are not ignoring this issue. Microsoft has implemented a closed-loop water system for cooling its processing hardware, which doesn’t lose water to evaporation. Google has committed to replenishing 120% of the water it consumes by 2030. Other companies are exploring innovative solutions such as AI-assisted water management and modern cooling systems like the Thermosyphon Cooler Hybrid System.
Advanced chips with integrated fluid channels could bring cooling directly to processors, enhancing efficiency and reducing overall water usage. Some experts suggest that decentralized cloud computing could alleviate water stress by distributing computing resources across many smaller, localized devices.
However, the timeline for widespread adoption of these technologies remains uncertain. As Urs Hölzle, Google’s senior vice president of technical infrastructure, stated, “There’s no silver bullet for water conservation.”
While the water consumption of data centers presents a significant environmental challenge, the tech industry is actively working on solutions. The coming years will be crucial in determining whether these efforts can keep pace with the growing demand for data processing and storage.
