- Data centers in England use far less water than many expected
- Techuk study shows that nearly two-thirds of the facilities consumes modest amounts of water
- Cooling systems with closed loop reduce the dependence on traditional water -intensive methods
The world’s expanding network of data centers has often been associated with heavy environmental costs, especially when it comes to water.
These facilities form the base for cloud services, LLM training and the many AI tools that are now embedded across industries.
However, a new study conducted by Techuk, conducted with the British Environment Agency, has claimed that data centers are “not intense water users” as many people believe.
Very few places with water consumption on the industry.
The report found that nearly two -thirds (64%) of commercial sites in England consume less than 10,000 cubic meters of water a year.
This level of demand is described as lower than for a “typical leisure center” and corresponds to the water requirements of a Premier League football club.
Only 4% of the facilities reported use over 100,000 cubic meters of a year, a number more associated with industrial production.
Cooling has long been considered the driving force of the water center water consumption, although the industry is now moving towards alternatives such as waterless and closed loop systems.
More than half of the facilities surveyed are already dependent on waterless cooling, while many others use direct-to-chip techniques that recycle water within sealed systems.
In fact, 89% of operators said they no longer track consumption because their systems use “No water beyond the regular function of any building.”
While the report emphasizes that operators “actively innovate” to reduce demand remains skepticism.
Questions also remain as to whether reported numbers catch the full life cycle of water use, including indirect impacts from energy production.
Techuk claims that data centers are crucial to the British economy, which contributes billions in annual value and enables ambitions in AI and digital innovation.
The trade body calls for stronger planning frameworks, including a proposed “water utilization index” to track local stress levels.
“I am encouraged by the work, Techuk has undertaken to better understand water consumption, and the results suggest that British data centers use a number of cooling technologies and become more water conscious,” said Richard Thompson, Deputy Director of Water Resources on the Environment Agency.
“It is important that the sector puts sustainability in the heart and minimizes water consumption in accordance with developing standards.”
