Google says it will replenish more water than it uses at data centers amid public pushback

There’s been a lot of pushback in recent months around the impact of AI data centers on local communities, with the use of water being a key issue for many. Google, in an expension of its “water stewardship” programs, is making commitments that include replenishing more water than it uses at its data center sites.

AI data centers go through a lot of water use in cooling the hardware used to power models, and Google is no exception. While Google stands by saying that the impact of AI data centers on US water consumption is “small,” it also says it is focusing on “protecting local water resources in all aspects of our data center operations.”

In a post, Google explains five new commitments regarding water use at its data centers in the US.

These include replenishing more water than is consumed at data centers, helping local utilities to modernize water infrastructure, using air-cooled solutions in areas where watersheds are at risk, “transparently” reporting water use at data centers, and focusing on “alternative and reclaimed” water solutions.

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Google says:

In a linked paper, Google says it will replenish 120% of the water it uses at data center sites by 2030.

Google is also committing $17 million to new water stewardship projects in Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas in addition to 165 other projects already in place throughout the US.

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