- Data centers in England use much less water than many
- The Techuk survey shows that almost two thirds of the installations consume modest amounts of water
- Closed loop cooling systems reduce dependence on traditional water intensity methods
The global network of data centers in the world has often been linked to heavy environmental costs, in particular with regard to water.
These installations constitute the basis of cloud services, LLM training and many AI tools now integrated into all industries.
However, a new techuk survey, conducted with the UK Environment Agency, said that the data centers are “not intensive water users” as many people think.
Very few sites with the use of water at the industry level
The report revealed that almost two thirds (64%) of commercial sites in England consume less than 10,000 cubic meters of water per year.
This level of demand is described as lower than that of a “typical leisure center” and similar to the water requirements of a Premier League football club.
Only 4% of the facilities said they used more than 100,000 cubic meters per year, a figure associated more with industrial production.
Cooling has long been considered the engine of water consumption in the data center, although the industry is now moving to alternatives such as water and closed loop systems.
More than half of the installations questioned are already based on water -free cooling, while many others use direct techniques on chip that recycle water in sealed systems.
In fact, 89% of operators said they no longer followed consumption because their systems “no water beyond the regular functioning of any building”.
While the report emphasizes operators “actively innovative” to reduce demand, skepticism remains.
Questions also remain on the question of whether the figures reported capture the full life cycle of water use, including the indirect impacts of energy production.
Techuk maintains that data centers are essential for the British economy, contributing to billions of annual values and allowing ambitions in AI and digital innovation.
The commercial organization calls for stronger planning executives, including an “water operating index” offered to follow local stress levels.
“I am encouraged by the work that Techuk has undertaken to better understand the use of water, and the results suggest that British data centers use a range of cooling technologies and become more concerned about water,” said Richard Thompson, deputy director of water resources at the Environmental Agency.
“It is vital that the sector puts sustainability at its heart and minimizes the use of water in accordance with developing standards.”
