Can the digital age be powered sustainably?
Data centers are the beating heart of the digital age, powering everything from online shopping to complex AI computations. These digital nerve centers, however, have a big appetite for a resource that’s becoming increasingly scarce: water. As data centers continue to grow, so does their water demand.
The United States leads the world in data centers, with more than 5,000 in operation. Germany follows with just over 500. Physical footprints for data centers range from 1,000 square feet to more than 1 million, with an average of about 100,000. By one estimate, 175 zettabytes of data will be created by 2025, marking a 146-fold increase since 2010.
The Water Challenge for Data Centers
Water plays a crucial role in cooling the massive servers and networking equipment within these centers. Large hyperscale data centers for cloud service providers and major internet companies consume large amounts of water. Google’s centers that support Gmail, Google Drive, and YouTube used about 550,000 gallons daily in the past 12 months, or about 200 million gallons per year. Smaller data centers use significantly less water, often under 100,000 gallons daily. Notably, Google’s data center in The Dalles, Oregon consumed 29% of the town’s total water supply in 2022.
Water in data centers is used in cooling towers, pumps, chillers, heat exchangers, pipes, condensers, humidification and fire suppression systems, as well as facility maintenance. Computer room air handlers may also use water cooling.
A chilled water system is a highly efficient, water-based cooling system preferred by hyperscale data centers. A central chiller cools the water, circulates it through heat-absorbing coils, and then dissipates the heat into the environment with a cooling tower. The water then reenters the system to be used again.
Traditional cooling methods such as air conditioning can be energy-intensive and inefficient in handling the heat loads generated by modern hardware. Many data centers are turning to water-based cooling solutions, which offer superior performance and energy efficiency.
How Data Centers Use Water
Data centers manage spent water in a variety of ways. Some pipe it to a nearby wastewater treatment facility or discharge it into the environment in compliance with heat pollution regulations. In evaporative cooling systems such as cooling towers, some of the water evaporates while cooling the rest of the water.
In recirculation and reuse systems, water is recirculated after it does the job and cools down again with even less water wasted, but the reused water’s conductivity may grow too high, and with each cycle, scale-forming calcium, magnesium, or silica reaches higher concentrations.
Ultimately, spent cooling water from data centers may be treated and reused for nonpotable applications on-site or shared externally for uses such as crop irrigation.
Water efficiency at data centers can be gauged using the Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) metric, calculated as the ratio of annual water consumption to energy consumption measured in kilowatt-hours. One recent sectoral WUE estimate suggests data centers used an average of 1.8 liters of water for each kilowatt-hour of electricity.
Growing reliance on water-based cooling systems has put significant pressure on local resources, since the water generally comes from municipal or regional water utilities. Only about 5% of the water comes from other sources, such as on-site groundwater wells, surface water, seawater, produced water, nonpotable graywater, recycled water, or harvested rainwater.
As data centers expand, the demand for water can strain municipal supplies and erode community support, particularly in regions already facing water scarcity. While data center operators may not have extensively monitored their water use, more municipalities now require new data centers to minimize direct water consumption. Many of the top hyperscalers, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta, have committed to going “water positive” by 2030.
Water-as-a-Service® Can Transform Data Center Water Management
Data centers need water expertise, but staffing a water treatment plant with professionals and keeping up with technologies and regulations is complex. Seven Seas Water Group’s Water-as-a-Service® (WaaS®) simplifies water for data centers with maximum water sustainability for a minimum investment.
WaaS® essentially delivers a tailored water utility dedicated to the needs of the data center. The operator need only pay an easily budgeted bill, and WaaS® delivers, operates, and maintains the treatment system and assumes compliance responsibilities. WaaS® even offers the unparalleled sustainability that has earned Seven Seas the top GRESB rating.
Maintaining an industry-leading 97% plant availability with more than 2,000 installations since 1970, Seven Seas brings continuity to count on as data centers evolve, change hands, and adapt to changes in regulatory frameworks and climate shocks.
A Bright Future for Data Centers Is Possible
Predicting the growth of data center demand can be difficult with AI disrupting the sector so profoundly. One prediction holds that 8% of power in the U.S. will go toward computational resources for AI. If your data center has not developed a sustainable water management plan, it is time to prepare for growth with WaaS®. The AI revolution is getting white-hot, but WaaS® is here to keep community relations warm and computation cool. Contact Seven Seas to optimize your data center’s water efficiency.
Image Credit: meshcube/123RF
Matt Tesvich serves as the Global IT Director for Seven Seas Water Group. He is a seasoned manufacturing professional with over 20 years of experience in both high and low automation environments. He has been at the forefront of cutting-edge manufacturing technology, notably managing a $1 billion contact lenses plant outside of Atlanta, GA. As a former Global Manufacturing Digital Transformation Lead, Matt has driven innovation across multiple industries, including Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, and Utilities.