New data shows that in 2021, Google used more than 4 billion gallons of water in its global data centers, including 3.3 billion gallons in the United States and 971 million gallons in the rest of the world.
The figures came to light after media exposure oregonian challenged the city of The Dalles, Oregon, to reveal how much water Google data centers in the area are consuming.
The legal battle lasted 13 months as the city of The Dalles tried to prevent Google from releasing the consumption data. However, the city eventually backed down and revealed that the tech giant used 274.5 million gallons of water in 2021 alone.
open the floodgates
The city has also committed to making such data available in the future.
oregonians too Report (opens in a new tab) Water use by the facilities has nearly tripled in five years, claiming they now use more than a quarter of the city’s water. What’s more, it looks like this will only increase further, as Google plans to build two more data centers in The Dalles.
Google claims that this water usage is similar to that of 29 golf courses in the United States. It also insists that those figures do not include the seawater it uses.
Data center water issues are widespread, and colocation providers are working to improve as regulations governing such consumption come into effect in various regions.
Report from an IT consulting company Uptime Institute (opens in a new tab) found that currently, only half of data center operators report their water use. It also recommends simple fixes to meet future sustainability standards, such as covering empty server racks to improve airflow, and upgrading older cooling systems that are still in use.
