Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Artificial intelligence (AI) is\nincreasingly used to support work, analyse data and even assist medical\ndiagnoses. Behind this convenience, however, lies a growing demand for\nwater.<\/p>\n
These services are underpinned by data centres, facilities that house\nservers, storage devices and networking equipment to store, process and\ntransmit data. This infrastructure supports a wide range of digital\nactivities, including cloud services and AI.<\/p>\n
Servers that operate continuously generate heat, so they require\ncooling to keep equipment functioning optimally. The University of\nGeorgia explains that water is mainly used for this cooling process,\nrather than as a raw material for data processing.<\/p>\n
The water footprint also extends beyond the facilities themselves.\nCiting AKCP, a technology company specialising in sensor-based\ninfrastructure monitoring, water is not only used directly for cooling\nbut is also consumed indirectly by the power plants that supply energy\nto data centres. For this reason, water savings at a site need to be\nassessed alongside its electricity needs.<\/p>\n
The expansion of digital infrastructure also poses challenges for\nwater management. In regions facing drought, the needs of data centres\ncan add pressure on supplies for households, agriculture and other\nindustries.<\/p>\n
Data Centres Continue to Grow<\/p>\n
Data centres take many forms depending on their function and scale.\nThe Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) classifies the\ndifferent types.<\/p>\n
The growth of hyperscale facilities illustrates the scale of the\nindustry\u2019s expansion. Synergy Research Group recorded 1,103 such\nfacilities at the end of 2024, a doubling over five years. By the end of\n2025, the number had reached 1,360.<\/p>\n
In July 2026, Synergy also identified almost 1,500 large data centres\nin development plans worldwide. Nearly half are located in the United\nStates (US).<\/p>\n
The expansion has also been accompanied by a shift in where servers\nare housed. The LBNL estimates that around 74% of servers in the US were\nin hyperscale and colocation facilities in 2023. That share is projected\nto rise to 85% by 2028.<\/p>\n
Why Do Data Centres Need So Much Water?<\/p>\n
Water is primarily used to remove heat from servers. One method is\nevaporative cooling, which uses the evaporation of water to release\nheat.<\/p>\n
This method can save electricity, but it requires replacement water\nbecause some of it evaporates. Air-based cooling can reduce on-site\nwater use, although under certain conditions it requires more\nelectricity to run fans and compressors.<\/p>\n
As a result, water consumption can differ considerably between\nfacilities. The size of a data centre, its computing load, the cooling\ntechnology and the local climate all influence its needs.<\/p>\n
Citing research from the University of Georgia, a mid-sized facility\nusing evaporative cooling may use around 300,000 US gallons, or 1.14\nmillion litres, of water per day. A large hyperscale facility in a hot\nclimate may use between 1 million and 5 million gallons, equivalent to\n3.79 million to 18.93 million litres, per day.<\/p>\n
These figures illustrate facilities with particular characteristics\nand are not averages across all data centres.<\/p>\n
Water Consumption Keeps Rising<\/p>\n
In its 2025 report Energy and AI, the International Energy Agency\n(IEA) estimated that global water consumption linked to data centres\nreached around 560 billion litres in 2023. Under its base-case scenario,\nthis volume is projected to rise to around 1.2 trillion litres per year\nby 2030, more than double the 2023 level.<\/p>\n
This calculation includes direct cooling, energy supply and chip\nmanufacturing. Around two-thirds of consumption in 2023 came from\nprimary energy supply and electricity generation, while around a quarter\ncame from direct cooling.<\/p>\n
Water withdrawal refers to all water taken from a source.\nConsumption, by contrast, is the portion not returned to its source\nafter use, for example because it has evaporated. As a result,\nwithdrawal volumes can be far larger than consumption.<\/p>\n
Specifically for AI, an article in the journal Water Research in\n2026, available via ScienceDirect, cites projections that global water\nwithdrawal linked to the technology could reach 4.2 to 6.6 trillion\nlitres by 2027.<\/p>\n
This estimate covers direct use as well as electricity generation for\nAI operations. Because it measures withdrawal, it differs from the water\nconsumption reported by the IEA.<\/p>\n
Google is one example of the rising water needs of data centres. In\n2021, the company reported global water consumption for its data centres\nof around 16.3 billion litres. That figure reached 39.83 billion litres\nin 2025, roughly 2.4 times higher in four years.<\/p>\n
The increase has continued over the past year. Google\u2019s data centre\nwater consumption rose from 29.48 billion litres in 2024 to 39.83\nbillion litres in 2025, an increase of 35.1%. This figure includes the\ndata centres that support Google\u2019s various digital services, including\nAI.<\/p>\n
Keeping Water Sustainable for Data Centres<\/p>\n
Water sustainability needs to be considered from the selection of a\nsite and the design of a data centre. The article The Water Footprint of\nArtificial Intelligence: Emerging Solutions and Governance Imperatives\n2026 stresses that technological solutions must be accompanied by\nmanagement of the impact on water sources and local communities.<\/p>\n
A study, Using Life Cycle Assessment to Drive Innovation for\nSustainable Cool Clouds, published in the journal Nature in 2025, found\nthat cold plate and immersion cooling could reduce surface water and\ngroundwater consumption by 31% to 52% compared with the air-cooling\nconfigurations examined. The savings were calculated over the system\u2019s\nlife cycle and depend on facility design and electricity source.<\/p>\n
The research also shows that water use is influenced by server\nefficiency, cooling and power supply. Accordingly, the growth of data\ncentres needs to be matched by efficiency across the whole system and by\nmanagement suited to local water availability.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/behind-the-ai-boom-why-is-water-demand-also-rising-1791431572", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }