The Data Center Water Secret

Water consumption by data centers: A wrong issue?

Measuring water consumption at the facility level is no longer sufficient. A comprehensive approach must consider the full lifecycle, integrating energy production, geography, and climate

The Data Center Water Secret

Photo by João Paulo Carnevalli de Oliveira on UnsplashThey say it many different ways. “We’re water-neutral.” “We recycle.” “We use closed-loop cooling.” Here is what’s not said: Most of the water a data center actually consumes never touches the building at all.When a tech company tells a county board that its new campus will use, say, 2 million gallons a year for cooling, that number is real. But it’s only the direct water. They are talking ab…