The AI boom is driving demand for data centers, which in turn is driving up water consumption. (Water is used to cool the computing equipment inside them.) In Virginia, home to the world’s largest number of data centers, water use is expected to increase by nearly two-thirds between 2019 and 2023, from 1.13 billion gallons to 1.85 billion gallons, according to the FT.
Many say this trend, which is unfolding globally, is unsustainable. Major data center operator Microsoft says 42% of the water it consumes in 2023 will come from “water-stressed” areas. Google, which has the largest data center footprint, says 15% of its freshwater withdrawals this year will come from “severely water-stressed” areas.
Why can't data centers recycle water in a closed loop system? Many do, but most of the water they consume is stored separately for humidity control, so it evaporates. Especially in dry areas, air without humidity can be a strong conductor of static electricity, which is generally bad news for computers.
