Water consumption is also surging as investment in data centers has increased sharply amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. As warnings of water shortage in water intake areas followed, Big Tech said it would save water by using recycled water.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 18th (local time), data center-related water consumption in Virginia, where dozens of data centers are concentrated, was 1.85 billion gallons (7 billion liters) last year, up about 64 percent from four years ago. This is due to a 59 percent increase in the number of data centers during the same period.
Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, is called a “data center alley” as it houses dozens of data centers established by big tech such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Google. About 70% of the world’s Internet traffic is handled here. Water use is expected to increase as investment in data centers is also increasing as AI competition intensifies. Virginia has been suffering from a record drought in recent years, but Amazon recently allowed up to 1.4 billion gallons of water to be used annually in the Rapper Sea Green River. There are currently 12 pending data center applications in Fairfax County.
Environmental groups said that data centers are sourcing cooling water from areas that are already running low on water, which could worsen the damage. Microsoft said that 42 percent of the world’s water consumption last year came from areas with “water stress,” and Google also said that 15 percent of its freshwater intake came from areas with severe water shortages. Data centers use huge amounts of water to cool hardware, most of which evaporate and cannot be recycled. This could worsen drought conditions in water-poor areas.
Faced with strong criticism, big tech companies have declared that they will reduce their water use. The FT said, “Big tech companies are promising to reduce their water consumption, with Amazon stating that it plans to return more water to their communities by 2030. Meanwhile, Bank of America estimates that data centers are the 10th largest water consumers in the U.S. According to Digital Infrastructure, data centers in the U.S. consumed more than 75 billion gallons (284 billion liters) of water last year. This is equivalent to the amount used by London, the capital of the U.K., for four months.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
