At the heart of our digital lives—from the emails we send to the artificial intelligence that assists us—lies a physical infrastructure with an insatiable thirst. We are talking about data centers, the brains of the information age. But while we marvel at the advancements in AI and cloud computing, a critical environmental cost remains in the shadows: their massive consumption of potable water. This is not a future problem; it is happening now and threatens to redefine the value of our most vital resource.
The numbers are alarming and difficult to visualize. An average data center can consume between 11 and 19 million liters of water per day, equivalent to the consumption of a city of up to 50,000 inhabitants [1]. The main reason is cooling. The thousands of servers that process our data generate an immense amount of heat, and to prevent overheating, systems that pump water are used.
The rise of artificial intelligence has exponentially multiplied this demand. Training a model like GPT-3 can require up to 700,000 liters of water [2]. A simple conversation of 20 to 50 questions with a chatbot like ChatGPT can "cost" half a liter of water [3]. This consumption, multiplied by billions of daily interactions, translates into unprecedented pressure on water resources.
Technology companies themselves reflect this trend. In recent years, Microsoft reported a 34% increase in its water consumption, while Google saw a 20% increase, figures directly linked to their AI ambitions [4, 5].
But technology's thirst is not limited to the operational phase of data centers. Long before a server begins to function, the manufacturing of its components, especially chips and semiconductors, has already devoured immense quantities of water. An average chip manufacturing plant can consume 38 million liters of ultrapure water per day, an amount comparable to the consumption of a city of 33,000 inhabitants [6]. This water is essential for cleaning silicon wafers at each stage of the manufacturing process, ensuring the purity necessary for microchip operation. It is estimated that the global semiconductor sector uses 1.2 trillion liters of water annually, and this consumption is projected to double by 2035 due to increasing demand for integrated circuits [7].
The problem is exacerbated by the location of these centers. More than two-thirds of those built since 2022 are located in water-stressed regions [8]. This creates direct and dangerous competition between the needs of technology corporations and those of the local population and agriculture.
Conflicts have already erupted in various parts of the world, and Spain is no exception:
•In Navarra, the construction of a data center is projected that could consume up to 6.4 million liters of water per day, extracted directly from the Ebro River. This figure is equivalent to the daily consumption of a population of 45,000 people and has generated strong opposition from environmental groups and citizens, who warn about the impact on an already vulnerable ecosystem and in a context of recurrent drought [9].
•In Querétaro, Mexico, the arrival of tech giants has been celebrated for the investment, but it has raised alarm among citizens who already suffer from water scarcity and power outages [10].
•In Uruguay, a Google project that intended to use 7.6 million liters of water per day was heavily criticized by activists amidst a historic drought [11].
The lack of transparency from many of these companies exacerbates the problem. It is often extremely difficult to obtain precise data on their water consumption, which prevents a real assessment of their environmental impact.
Faced with these criticisms, it is often argued that the water used in cooling is not "destroyed," but rather evaporates and returns to the atmosphere to later fall as rain. While this is scientifically correct, it is a dangerous and incomplete truth for several reasons:
1.Loss of Potable Water: The water that evaporates is, for the most part, potable water extracted from local sources (rivers, aquifers). Once evaporated, it is lost to that community.
2.The Cycle is Not Local: Rain does not necessarily fall in the same watershed from which the water was extracted. It can rain hundreds of kilometers away or over the ocean, meaning a net loss of fresh water for the affected region.
3.Rainwater is Not Potable: Rainwater must be collected, treated, and purified to be suitable for human consumption again, a process that has energy and economic costs. Furthermore, evaporated water from data centers may contain traces of chemicals used in cooling processes, which could affect the quality of rainwater in certain areas.
In summary: a local resource, treated and ready for consumption, is extracted and returned to the global cycle as water vapor, leaving the local community with less available water.
Growing scarcity is transforming water into a strategic and speculative asset. We are witnessing a global phenomenon where companies, investment funds, and magnates are systematically acquiring land not for its agricultural or real estate value, but for the water rights and aquifers it harbors.
This trend, known as land grabbing, ensures buyers control over a resource that will become increasingly valuable. Those who buy large tracts of agricultural land understand that access to water, often obtained freely and without restrictions, can have a much greater long-term value than the land itself.
Fortunately, the situation is not irreversible. The technology industry is beginning to react, driven by public pressure and the need for sustainability.
•Cooling Innovation: Closed-loop cooling systems exist that reuse water multiple times, drastically reducing the need for constant extraction from external sources. Other technologies such as direct-to-chip liquid cooling or immersion cooling are up to 3,000 times more efficient than air and can reduce water consumption by more than 40%.
•Corporate Commitments: Microsoft has announced a new "zero evaporation" data center design and has committed, along with Google and Meta, to be "water positive" by 2030, returning more water than they consume.
•Regulation and Transparency: It is essential that governments demand public and detailed reports on water and energy consumption, and that the use of potable water for cooling be prohibited, encouraging the use of recycled or gray water.
Water is already a scarce resource in many countries, and this type of technology will further exacerbate this situation. The amount of water a country has will increasingly be proportional to the technological power it can develop, making water a source of potential geopolitical conflicts in the next 10 years. Nations with guaranteed access to sufficient water resources will not only be able to sustain their population and agriculture but also fuel the digital infrastructure that drives the global economy. Those without it will find themselves at a critical strategic disadvantage. It is imperative that water sustainability becomes a global priority, not only for environmental survival but also for geopolitical stability and equitable development.
The digital revolution does not have to cost us the most essential resource for life (But it does and it will).
[1] Network World: Do data centers threaten the water supply?
[2] Interesting Engineering: GPT-3 training consumed 700k liters of water, 'enough for...'
[3] Euronews: ChatGPT 'drinks' a bottle of fresh water for every 20 to 50...
[4] Datacenter Dynamics: Microsoft's water consumption jumps 34 percent amid AI...
[5] Business Insider: Google's Water Use Is Soaring. AI Is Only Going to Make It...
[6] World Economic Forum: Semiconductor manufacturing and big tech's water challenge
[7] IDTechEx: Water Usage in Semiconductor Manufacturing to Double by 2035
[8] Bloomberg: How AI Demand Is Draining Local Water Supplies
[9] EFE: Un centro de datos en Navarra consumirá 6,4 millones de litros de agua al día del Ebro
[10] BNamericas: The water footprint of data centers in Mexico
[11] The Guardian: Google data centre’s water use sparks concern in drought-hit Uruguay
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