Water used at the power plants that supply electricity to data centers can be much greater than the water used in the data centers themselves.
When it comes to total water use, AI data centers are a drop in the bucket
Even moderately sized data centers can have an outsized local impact.
Water Use Isn’t a Data Center Problem, It’s an AI Problem
Critics of the AI build-out are picking the wrong fight when they attack data centers for their water use. But they are right when they say the digital economy is getting thirstier and the tech industry should answer for it.The whole AI supply chain is water intensive, and reducing use in one ...
Data center guzzled 30 million gallons of water and nobody noticed for months
Can AI save us from the AI industry’s endless thirst for water? Outlook not so good.
You’re Thinking About AI and Water All Wrong
Fears about AI data centers’ water use have exploded. Experts say the reality is far more complicated than people think.
How much of a problem is AI’s water use?
AI’s water footprint is growing, but location and cooling technology make a difference.
AI Data Centers: Big Tech's Impact on Electric Bills, Water, and More via @ConsumerReports
Massive data centers are gobbling up resources across the United States. The boom has just begun—and you may be paying for it.
Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land
Guardian analysis finds facilities to be built in some of the driest areas as outcry grows over water needed to power AI
Empire of AI - Water Footprint Changes — Karen Hao
I have issued two changes to my book regarding the water footprint of data centers:
Amazon’s data centers used 2.5 billion gallons of water last year
Amazon’s using a lot of water, but claims it’s using it efficiently.
The Race to Rethink Data Centers for AI’s Power Surge
With energy demand already straining infrastructure, AI players are reimagining the data center from the ground up.
A data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed — until residents complained about low water pressure
Residents in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed low water pressure last year. The utility discovered two unaccounted-for water connections at one of the nation’s largest data center campuses.
A data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed — until residents complained about low water pressure
Residents in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed low water pressure last year. The utility discovered two unaccounted-for water connections at one of the nation’s largest data center campuses.
Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says
Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’
US data centers’ energy use amid the artificial intelligence boom
Data centers accounted for 4% of total U.S. electricity use in 2024. Their energy demand is expected to more than double by 2030.
Inside the Dirty, Dystopian World of AI Data Centers
The race to power AI is already remaking the physical world.
AI Is A Money Trap
In the last week, we’ve had no less than three different pieces asking whether the massive proliferation of data centers is a massive bubble, and though they, at times, seem to take the default position of AI’s inevitable value, they’ve begun to sour on the idea that
