Think about how hot your computer gets after an eight-hour work day. Now imagine that multiplied by a million, and house them all in one area. The only thing stopping an overheating disaster is a powerful cooling system. Large data centers, like Facebook, Apple, and Google, require massive amount of water to keep their systems cool and operating efficiently. However, diminishing water supplies due to drought and water scarcity are threatening not only the reliability of critical cooling operations for these technological power-houses, but also profitability. [1]
An article by Justin Morton of Bloomberg identified growing investor concerns related to water reliability in multi-million-dollar data centers. The article reports that a majority of US data facilities are located in California – which is in its fifth year of drought and has issued several water reduction mandates. With some data centers requiring hundreds of millions of gallons of water per year, investors are exploring solutions to water supply challenges before profitability is affected. [1]
Many facilities are turning to reclamation and reuse to solve water reliability problems. Data icons Facebook, Apple, and Google have implemented water reuse strategies at some of their facilities to help offset their large water demands. [1][2][3][4] Most notably, Google’s Atlanta data center utilizes reclaimed water for 100% of its cooling demands, drastically reducing its reliance on potable water. [4]
As technological advancements and consumer data requirements grow, so will data centers’ dependence on an unreliable resource. Water sustainability for these facilities goes beyond just environmental concerns when profitability is threatened. With investors weighing in, data centers’ may begin to include more reclamation strategies as a safety net for these multi-million-dollar investments.
Published 8/31/2016
[1] Morton, Justin. Data Centers’ Water Use Has Investors on High Alert. Bloomberg, August 5, 2016. Web. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-05/data-centers-water-use-has-investors-on-high-alert [2] Rogoway, Mike. Apple’s newest innovation: Wastewater treatment to cool Prineville data centers. The Oregonian, June 12, 2016. Web. http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2016/06/apples_newest_innovation_waste.html [3] Facebook. Water Efficiency at the Prineville Data Center. Facebook, April 20, 2011. Web. https://www.facebook.com/notes/prineville-data-center/water-efficiency-at-the-prineville-data-center/10150154559183133/ [4] Google. Douglas County, Georgia. Google, No Date. Web. https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/inside/locations/douglas-county/