Data Centers, Backbone of the Digital Economy, Face Water Scarcity And Climate Risk
About 20% of data centers in the United States already rely on watersheds that are under moderate to high stress from drought.
For years, companies that operate data centers have faced scrutiny for the huge amounts of electricity they use storing and moving digital information like emails and videos.
Now, the U.S. public is beginning to take notice of the water many facilities require to keep from overheating. Like cooling systems in large office buildings, water often is evaporated in data center cooling towers, leaving behind salty wastewater known as blowdown that has to be treated by local utilities.