How Much Water Do Ohio Data Centers Actually Use?
This report investigates the significant water consumption by data centers in Central Ohio, a major data center hub. It highlights the challenges in obtaining precise water usage data due to non-disclosure agreements, revealing that Google's data center in the area uses over a billion gallons annually. Efforts are being explored to use recycled water for cooling to alleviate the strain on public water sources.
Central Ohio, particularly Columbus, has emerged as a significant hub for data centers, with over 150 facilities including those operated by major tech companies. These data centers consume substantial amounts of water, primarily for cooling purposes, a concern that has led to public worries about drinking water supplies. Efforts to obtain precise water usage data have been difficult due to the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements within the sector.
According to an administrator named Newsom, one Google data center alone consumes more than a billion gallons of water annually, an amount equivalent to supplying over 10,000 households. This figure was obtained through a public records request, despite the general difficulty in acquiring such information. For comparison, the video also mentions an Anheuser-Busch bottling plant and Ohio State University's usage.
Helena Wolzer, focusing on the Great Lakes, emphasized the responsibility to manage water resources for future generations. The report notes that data centers often employ various cooling methods, some of which are closed-loop systems that reuse water, while others are evaporative, leading to water loss. Newsom is reportedly exploring the use of recycled water for cooling to reduce the burden on fresh water supplies, an initiative that would require significant infrastructure investment to deliver the reclaimed water to data center sites. There is an expectation that data centers benefiting from such infrastructure would help pay for it.