Water from Data Centres Carries Biocide Threat, Here is the Explanation
Recently, many data centres have faced operational challenges. In Indonesia, the construction of the BDX-built AI data centre was temporarily halted because it failed to meet requirements, including environmental impact assessments (AMDAL) and building permits (PBG).
Beyond regulatory hurdles, data centres face significant issues regarding water usage, which is a vital resource for cooling. Many data centres rely on water to absorb heat, although their consumption is not as high as other industries such as agriculture or certain manufacturing sectors.
According to Knowable Magazine, water usage for data centre cooling systems was estimated to reach 6 million litres in 2023. Similarly, the use of AI consumes vast amounts of water; Google once estimated that five drops of water are consumed to process an average-length query on Gemini.
Water consumption trends are expected to rise as AI usage continues to grow. Data from a Cornell University research team led by Fengqi You indicates that US data centres could consume between 731 billion and 1.125 trillion litres of water annually, an amount equivalent to the annual drinking water supply of New York City.
Professor You suggests locating data centres in areas with abundant renewable energy sources that are not vulnerable to drought. It is reported that strategic placement and the implementation of other measures could reduce the water footprint of AI by up to 86%.
Biocides in the water
Beyond consumption, data centres can pollute water through chemical runoff from cooling systems, specifically through biocides commonly used in data centre water systems.
Organic buildup typically occurs because evaporative cooling systems make data centres warmer and more humid. Biocides are used to prevent this.
These chemicals, such as chlorine dioxide or bromine, are used to maintain the cleanliness and efficiency of the system.
Data Centre Knowledge notes that small amounts of water pollutants are generally not an issue; for instance, chlorine dioxide is commonly used in drinking water treatment. However, the massive scale of water usage in data centres presents a different scenario. It is recorded that a single data centre can use 5 million gallons of water per day, which is equivalent to the daily water usage of more than 15,000 households.
At such a scale, even small amounts of contaminants can accumulate, ultimately causing significant environmental damage. This problem is exacerbated when data centre operators do not discharge wastewater into public sewage systems, instead opting to release it directly into nearby lakes, rivers, or groundwater aquifers, allowing pollutants to enter ecosystems uncontrollably.