Data Centers Cut Water Use with New Cooling Tech
▼ Summary
– SpaceX amended its IPO to cite water scarcity, regulations, and drought as potential constraints on data center development.
– A Gallup poll found 70% of Americans oppose data center development, with water scarcity as the top resource concern.
– Data centers use water primarily for evaporative cooling, which reduces energy costs but increases water consumption.
– Google’s Council Bluffs facility consumed over 1 billion gallons of water in 2024 using evaporative cooling.
– A 2024 report predicted hyperscale data centers could use up to 33 billion gallons of water by 2030, posing risks in water-scarce regions.
Major tech firms are now confronting a resource challenge that could reshape the future of digital infrastructure: water scarcity. The issue gained new prominence when SpaceX amended its initial public offering on Monday, explicitly stating that water conditions,including scarcity, regulations, and drought,could constrain data center development.
SpaceX is hardly alone in this reckoning. Across the industry, water use has become one of the most contentious data center issues. A recent Gallup poll revealed that seven out of 10 Americans oppose data center development, with water scarcity topping the list of resource concerns. Facing mounting public resistance, several tech companies are now scrambling to demonstrate that they are taking the problem seriously.
The core challenge lies in cooling. Data centers generate enormous heat from server racks, and water is a primary vehicle for dissipating that thermal load. The most common method, evaporative cooling, relies on fresh water to absorb heat, which is then pumped to cooling towers where it evaporates outdoors.
Using more water can actually save money and reduce emissions for big tech companies, since it lowers the electricity needed for energy-intensive pump-based cooling systems. But the trade-off is a significant water footprint. Google’s facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which uses evaporative cooling, consumed more than 1 billion gallons of water in 2024.
The trajectory is alarming. A 2024 report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory predicted that hyperscale data centers could consume up to 33 billion gallons of water by 2030 if they continue relying heavily on evaporative cooling. While that figure is comparable to or even less than other thirsty industries,a single fracked oil well can use between 1.5 and 16 million gallons,the problem becomes acute in water-scarce regions. The risk spikes during summer, when data center cooling needs surge at the same time as municipal water demand.
“Water is a highly local, highly regional issue,” says Shaolei Ren, a professor of engineering at UC Riverside. “It’s a limited resource, and we have to manage it very carefully.”
(Source: Ars Technica)
