How much water are data centers really using? #shorts
Data centers in Central Ohio, including those operated by Meta, Amazon, and Google, are significant water consumers, with data centers accounting for 3% of Columbus' overall water consumption. The Columbus Water Department is exploring options like recycling wastewater to reduce strain on the public water supply.
In Central Ohio, data centers, including facilities for Meta, Amazon, and Google, are facing scrutiny over their significant water consumption, which is primarily used to cool computer chips. Public meetings across the state have highlighted concerns that these centers are depleting personal drinking water supplies.
According to John Newsom, administrator of the Columbus Water Department, data centers currently account for 3% of the city's total water consumption, a figure he believes is not a "huge burden" on the system. However, the Google data center alone used over a billion gallons of water last year, enough to supply more than 16,000 nearby households. To address future demands and community concerns, Newsom hopes to implement a system for recycling wastewater for cooling purposes, which would require building a separate delivery infrastructure. The expectation is that the end-users, presumably the data center operators, would bear the cost of this new system.