Removing old emails and photos in the UK could potentially aid in combating the nation's drought this year.
In a bid to conserve water resources during the ongoing drought, the UK government has taken an unusual step - encouraging residents to delete old emails, photos, and files. This recommendation comes as officials look for ways to reduce strain on water resources, including the water-intensive operation of data centers.
Data centers, which house servers for everything from email storage to AI model training, consume significant amounts of water, primarily for cooling. The Environment Agency Director of Water, Helen Wakeham, emphasized that simple, everyday choices, such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails, help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of rivers and wildlife.
The water consumption impact of digital storage arises mainly from cooling and humidification needs in data centers. These servers operate 24/7, generating substantial heat, which requires large-scale cooling infrastructure, often relying on water-based methods like evaporative cooling that can consume water amounts equivalent to a small city’s usage.
Google, for instance, has adopted several solutions to reduce water usage. In its Douglas County, Georgia, facility, it uses recycled wastewater for cooling. The tech giant aims to be "water positive" by 2030, meaning it will use less water than it consumes.
Other solutions include adiabatic cooling systems and hybrid fluid coolers, closed-loop cooling systems, water reuse and recycling, optimizing humidification system water management, and coordinated water and energy planning.
In Toronto, Equinix uses a Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system that draws cold water from the bottom of Lake Ontario to cool servers without relying on evaporative cooling towers. Similarly, Microsoft has experimented with placing data centers underwater and using liquid immersion cooling.
In parts of Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, district heating networks repurpose waste heat from data centers to warm residential and commercial buildings instead of releasing it into the air. This symbiotic relationship not only reduces the water footprint of data centers but also contributes to energy efficiency.
The crisis has been intensified by record heat, with August marking the fourth summer heatwave and the driest six-month period leading to July since 1976. Five regions in the UK have formally declared drought, and another six are experiencing "prolonged dry weather".
As AI and cloud computing continue to grow, the water demand from data centers is projected to increase. By 2030, data centers' water use associated with AI infrastructure is projected between 4.2 to 6.6 billion cubic meters annually - nearly half the UK’s yearly water withdrawals.
The push to conserve water highlights growing awareness of the environmental footprint of digital infrastructure. While deleting files may seem a small action, it underscores the collective responsibility we all share in preserving our precious water resources.
[1] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235246261930125X [2] Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03722-5 [3] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352462618302690 [4] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235246261930160X [5] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352462619301266
- The water consumption in data centers, powered by technology and driving innovation in sectors like AI and cloud computing, is a significant concern for scientists and environmental-scientists as it might escalate due to their continuous operation, cooling, and humidification needs.
- Fundamental to these water-intensive operations is the cooling of servers, which generate substantial heat and require large-scale cooling infrastructures, often relying on water-based methods.
- To combat this, leading companies like Google and Microsoft are adopting cutting-edge solutions such as recycled wastewater, closed-loop cooling systems, and underwater data centers, thereby contributing to a more sustainable technology industry and environmental-science.
- Financial institutions are recognizing the importance of investing in solutions that address climate change, water scarcity, and energy efficiency in the data center sector, recognizing that such solutions will favorably impact the future of the industry and the environment.
- As the global dependency on digital infrastructure grows, so does the urgency to conserve water resources through collective efforts and technological advancements; the consistent push towards innovation and sustainability in the tech, energy, and finance industries will play a pivotal role in mitigating future water crises and preserving our planet.
