#data-center-water-use

#data-center-water-use

With their enhanced processing capabilities, large "hyperscale" complexes are the preferred data centers for the computation-heavy training and use of AI models. They can cover an area of over 1 million square feet, roughly equal to 17 football fields. Water is used to maintain humidity and as a coolant for the heat-generating machines, and as American data centers have grown in size and number, so has their water consumption, from 5.6 billion gallons in 2014 to 17.4 billion in 2023.

On Page 1 of the Mercury News was an article about La Niña, stating that we do not know if it will have very little effect on our water supply or if it will cause a drought. On Page 6 was an opinion column about the number of data centers in the area and the water that they use (" AI data centers must disclose how much water they require ").