Worrying that Britain's AI ambitions could lead to water shortages

Industry sources told the BBC that Sir Keir Starmer plans to make Britain a “world leader” for artificial intelligence (AI) (AI) may Allows the already stretched drinking water supply to fatigue.

The giant data centers needed to power AI may require a lot of water to prevent them from overheating.

The tech industry says it is developing more efficient cooling systems that use less water.

But the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology said in a statement that it recognizes that plants “face sustainability challenges.”

The government has been committed to building multiple data centers across the country to kick-start economic growth.

Ministers insist Notorious server farms craving for service Priority access to the power grid will be obtained.

Asked a question Regarding the impact this may have on the government's clean energy production plan by 2030.

However, the data center may have less impact on the supply of fresh, drinkable water for homes and businesses.

Especially in the south, parts of the UK are already threatened by water shortage due to climate change and population growth.

The government is supporting plans for nine new reservoirs to mitigate the risks of ration and hose bans during drought.

But some of them are in areas where they are preparing to build a new data center.

The government's first “AI Growth Zone” will be in Kulum, Oxfordshire, on the UK Atomic Energy Administration campus – seven miles from the site of the Abingdon Project's new reservoir.

The 4.5 square miles (7 square kilometers) reservoir will be available to customers in the Thames Valley, London and Hampshire. It is unclear how much water can be obtained from the large number of new data centers planned nearby.

The BBC learned that the Thames water has been talking to the government about the water demand challenges related to data centers and how to mitigate water.

In a new report, the Royal Academy of Engineering calls on the government to ensure that tech companies accurately report the amount of energy and water used by their data centers.

It also requires all data centers to meet environmental sustainability requirements, including reducing drinking water use and transferring to zero for cooling.

“We are facing our development, and deploying and using AI can cause irreparable damage to the environment,” warned Tom Rodden, an author of the report.

The technology industry is often covered by water. Most of the UK data centers contacted in this article did not respond to our inquiries.

Data centers use fresh power water instead of surface water, so the pipes, pumps and heat exchangers used to cool server racks are not clogged with contaminants.

The amount used can vary greatly depending on many factors, including the surrounding environment; colder, wet places in the world tend to have fewer places.

A typical data center can use 11 million to 19 million liters of water a day, roughly the same as a town with 30,000 to 50,000 people, said Dr. Venkatesh Uddameri, a water management expert in Texas.

The calculations he widely quoted are based on arid or semi-arid climates and do not take into account the latest efficiency improvements or developments in AI.

Microsoft's global water use soared 34% when developing the initial AI tools, and during the GPT-4 training for OpenAI, Iowa's data center cluster used 6% of the region's water supply in a month.

Global local resistance to data centers is growingespecially in scarce areas.

In Chile, Google stopped building data centers after fears of its water use and redesigned another cooling system in Uruguay after local protests.

In the UK, Thames water has warned data centers that they may face restrictions on use during heat waves.

The company said in 2022 that it will review water use in data centers as it prepares to introduce a hose ban in the summer draft.

But a group of campaign lawyers Foxglove found evidence of Thames Water’s strategy documenting the second year, and the company still seems to have no idea how much water its existing data center customers are using.

Thames water declined to comment. It identifies the most recent five-year plan, which has been approved by the government.

This shows that it has no legal obligation to provide services to businesses and can choose to limit or reject commercial customers to limit or reject water; but this is written before the government Designated data centers are key national infrastructurewhich means they will face fewer planning restrictions.

Thames Water has filed an objection plan application for a new data center in a cluster in Reading in 2021.

But other proposals in the region have since been successful: Yondr, for example, announced in August 2024 that it would build its third data center campus there.

“The government must urgently explain that its plans for the new data center will not threaten our long-term drinking water supply,” said Martha Dark, CEO of Foxglove.

“We recognize that data centers face sustainability challenges such as energy demand and water use – which is why AI growth zones are designed to attract investment in areas where existing energy and water infrastructure is already in place,” a government spokesperson said.

In addition, recent changes made by Watt Water Regulator will “release £100.4 billion in water company spending” over the next five years.

The data center industry believes that modern websites are already more effective. Alternative cooling methods that do not require too much water (such as free air cooling and dry cooling) are developing.

Closed-loop cooling involving reusable water will be deployed in new data centers in Phoenix and Wisconsin.

Aaron Binckley, vice president of digital real estate sustainability, acknowledged criticism of water use in data centers, but claimed the industry was “making significant progress.”

His company, which has 300 data centers worldwide, is experimenting with a new AI tool that can analyze operational data and determine water-saving measures. He said nearly 4 million liters of water are expected to be saved every year.

Obviously, this is the expectation, not the reality, but Mr. Bingley said it proves that “AI can drive sustainability and technological advancement”.

2024 Environmental Agency wrote in its blog By 2050, England alone will need an additional 5 billion liters of water a day – it says that is equivalent to 2 million wheel trash cans to serve the population.

However, regulators now need more data to consider the future needs of new data centers.

Currently, it urges data centers to predict and plan their water use – and explore their own water sources, such as water resources.

“Meeting increased water demand is not just a problem the water industry needs to solve,” a source said.