Data centers are thirstier than most people realize, but not because of the water pumped into their on-site cooling equipment. Thermal electricity generation, including fossil fuels and nuclear, accounts for more — 3 to 4 trillion gallons of withdrawals in just seven states that host more than half of U.S. data centers.
The annual withdrawals needed for electricity powering data centers in Virginia during 2024, for example, are an estimated 21 times the amount used by the entire city of Washington, D.C., according to an analysis published Aug. 25 by nonprofit Ceres.
Water consumption varies depending on the source of power, with hydroelectricity and fossil-fuel resources having the heaviest impact on withdrawals. The latter is another reason that the rapid addition of new natural gas capacity by companies including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Open AI is so concerning.
Estimated freshwater withdrawals from power plants
California used more water than the other six states analyzed by Ceres, almost 1.4 trillion gallons, because it was the most dependent on hydro power.
More than 90 percent of the indirect data center water use in Ohio, Georgia and Virginia, on the other hand, was linked to the states’ heavy reliance on thermal generation sources including natural gas, coal and nuclear.
Texas used less water, on average, than the other states because of its higher mix of grid-tied solar and wind resources. Arizona and Illinois, meanwhile, were the two states most exposed to water stress and drought that should be another factor in data center location decisions.
The link between freshwater withdrawals and electricity generation is something few data center companies disclose, and that needs to change, said Shama Perveen, director of water research at Ceres and one of the report’s co-authors.
“This is the foundation for better understanding water risk linked to procuring electricity and working with power producers and peers in a precompetitive space on best practices to minimize impacts to local water resources, especially in water-stressed areas,” said Perveen.
Water consumption footprint projections
The water needed for data center power generation is doubling annually and will account for more than 70 percent of data center water consumption by 2030, predicts a separate analysis by Bluefield Research.
“It’s a real problem the industry needs to figure out,” said Jonathan Koomey, who has published extensive research on data center energy and water use. “They are being confronted with numbers that are all over the place. People don’t have a clear way to measure this, and there aren’t clear standards.”
