How Thirsty Are Data Centres: The Hidden Water Footprint of the Digital World
The data centre industry is continuously expanding, consuming huge amounts of water and raising concerns around water scarcity, while also driving innovation.
Every essential piece of information we want to store safely and access from anywhere ends up in the cloud. Although the term sounds innocuous, the “cloud” is really a vast network of remote servers that store, manage and process data globally. Under this cloud, the data centre industry is continuously expanding, consuming huge amounts of water and raising concerns around water scarcity, while also driving innovation.
The Explosion of Data Production
In 2021, the world population reached 7.8 billion, with 63% having internet access. Global data creation reached 120 zettabytes, around 0.33 zettabytes* per internet user. Since the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, humanity has entered a new scale of digital activity. By 2025:
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Daily data production is nearly 403 terabytes
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147 zettabytes of data are expected by year’s end
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Internet users reached 6 billion (up 240 million from 2024)
As a result, this surge is driving major growth in data centre construction worldwide.
The Water and Energy Burden
Data centres are among the most resource-intensive industries, and discussions about nuclear energy to meet future demand are increasing. Water consumption, particularly for cooling, is one of the most urgent challenges. To keep servers and chips functioning, strict conditions for temperature, humidity and airflow must be maintained.
A 2025 ScienceDirect study reported that Google’s data centre in The Dalles, Oregon, used 335 million gallons of water, accounting for 29% of the city’s total consumption. Energy production for data centres adds to indirect water usage:
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1 kWh of thermoelectricity = up to 2 litres of water
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1 kWh of hydropower = up to 1,194 litres
According to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. data centre water use rose from 21.2 billion litres in 2014 to 66 billion litres in 2024, and many operators still don’t monitor consumption closely.
Water Footprint at Scale
Data centres are now among the top ten water-consuming commercial industries. Around a quarter of water use is direct (on-site cooling), while the rest comes indirectly through energy and chip manufacturing. By 2025, the UN predicts half the world will live in water-scarce regions.
In water-stressed areas, the impact is even sharper:
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Texas data centres may consume 49 billion gallons in 2025
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That could reach 399 billion gallons by 2030
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Two-thirds of the new data centres built since 2022 were built in vulnerable regions
How Much Water Do They Use?
A single data centre can use astonishing amounts of water, sometimes from municipal tap supplies. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), a large data centre may use up to 5 million gallons per day, enough for 50,000 people. Estimates show:
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A small, 1 MW facility consumes over 25 million litres per year
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A medium-sized data centre drinks up to 110 million gallons per year
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A hyperscale centre needs around 1.8 billion litres annually
As AI drives rapid expansion, pressure on water supplies is expected to intensify unless cooling methods evolve.
Cooling Technologies
Cooling IT equipment, CPUs (central processing units), GPUs (graphic processing units), memory and servers now require increasingly sophisticated solutions. Traditional air cooling is still common, while liquid cooling is more efficient for high-density servers.
Immersion cooling is used in high-performance environments, and microfluidic cooling is emerging. Microsoft reports up to a 65% reduction in peak chip temperatures using microscopic channels attached directly to chips. Some data centres are even exploring floating designs, leveraging naturally cold water bodies.
Chip Production: A Hidden Water Cost
Chip manufacturing also consumes large volumes of water. Ultrapure water (UPW) is essential for cleaning semiconductor wafers. Producing 1,000 gallons of UPW requires 1,500 gallons of tap water, and even minor contamination can ruin entire chip batches, making fabrication a major contributor to digital infrastructure’s water footprint.
Data Keeps Surging
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA):
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Data centres used 1.5% of global electricity in 2021
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By 2030, this may reach 2.5–3%
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AI is accelerating demand:
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15+ billion AI images generated since 2022
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34 million are created daily
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7+ billion via Adobe Firefly since March 2023
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By 2031, 1.1 billion people are expected to use AI tools, significantly boosting the digital data produced.
The Dutch Model: Controlled Growth
The Netherlands follows a more strategic approach. According to CBS (Statistics Netherlands):
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Data centres use 3.3% of national electricity
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90% of this comes from renewables
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Dutch Digital Agencies purchase 99% green power
Water usage is also low: the Dutch ICT sector consumes just 0.3% of national tap water, and North Holland data centres used only 0.6% of regional drinking water in 2021, demonstrating the impact of efficient design, consolidated infrastructure and favourable climate conditions.
Preventing Water Scarcity
As AI, cloud services and digitalisation expand, data centres remain central to the modern world, but their water and energy footprints are often underestimated. Better measurement, advanced cooling systems, responsible site selection and efficiency-focused design will be critical to avoid worsening global water stress.
As data becomes the world’s most valuable resource, water may become its most contested one, making regulations and innovation more critical than ever.
1 zettabytes = 909494701.77293 terabytes
This article was originally published on Substack.
Sources:
Big Data & Global Internet Statistics
Data Center Water Usage & Sustainability
Energy & AI
Official & Policy Reports