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> Large data centers are resource hogs, using as much as 5 million gallons of water a day. While this is a lot of water, but as a point of comparison typical g

> Large data centers are resource hogs, using as much as 5 million gallons of water a day. While this is a lot of water, but as a point of comparison typical golf course uses about 100-200 million gallons of water a year. It's still a drop in the bucket compared to agriculture.

chucksta 2y ago
You switched from gal/day to gal/year, converting shows golf courses using a roughly 10th of the same amount of water in a day ~500,000 gal.
- legitster 2y ago
  I'm fully aware. But I'm quoting the article and golf courses don't use a consistent amount of water day to day, so I am trusting readers to do the math.
  - agsnu 2y ago
    Presumably the demand for golf courses isn’t growing at the same rate as datacenters.
    - nickff 2y ago
      I believe that it has actually dropped since 2000, with double-digit percentages of courses closing.
chiffre01 2y ago
Not defending the water usage of golf courses, but 5 million a day is a lot more water than 100-200 million per year. I guess you could say data centers provide a tangible utility while golf courses do not.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  If the data centers are being used to ship mostly garbage entertainment video, then I would say the utility of both is similarly "tangible" (whatever that means), but the datacenter obviously delivers orders of magnitude more utility hours (to orders of magnitude more people).
- legitster 2y ago
  I think more importantly, a large regional T1 data center probably supports a region of the US that includes hundreds if not thousands of golf courses.
- devilbunny 2y ago
  In fairness, golf courses help replenish aquifers in their area, and not all of them are sourced from “fossil water”. My city in the SE USA gets its water from a surface supply, so as long as the river through town is flowing, we’re good. The best golf course in the area backs up to said river; I don’t know for sure where they get their water, but since it’s essentially agricultural use, there’s no need to treat it prior to use. I would be surprised if they don’t just pump it directly from the river to the course. It’s all going to end up in the same river after the fact anyway. Not all of us live in near-deserts.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
rufus_foreman 2y ago
5 million gallons is approximately the amount the Mississippi river discharges in one second.

chucksta 2y ago

You switched from gal/day to gal/year, converting shows golf courses using a roughly 10th of the same amount of water in a day ~500,000 gal.

legitster 2y ago
I'm fully aware. But I'm quoting the article and golf courses don't use a consistent amount of water day to day, so I am trusting readers to do the math.
- agsnu 2y ago
  Presumably the demand for golf courses isn’t growing at the same rate as datacenters.
  - nickff 2y ago
    I believe that it has actually dropped since 2000, with double-digit percentages of courses closing.

chiffre01 2y ago

Not defending the water usage of golf courses, but 5 million a day is a lot more water than 100-200 million per year. I guess you could say data centers provide a tangible utility while golf courses do not.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
If the data centers are being used to ship mostly garbage entertainment video, then I would say the utility of both is similarly "tangible" (whatever that means), but the datacenter obviously delivers orders of magnitude more utility hours (to orders of magnitude more people).
legitster 2y ago
I think more importantly, a large regional T1 data center probably supports a region of the US that includes hundreds if not thousands of golf courses.
devilbunny 2y ago
In fairness, golf courses help replenish aquifers in their area, and not all of them are sourced from “fossil water”. My city in the SE USA gets its water from a surface supply, so as long as the river through town is flowing, we’re good. The best golf course in the area backs up to said river; I don’t know for sure where they get their water, but since it’s essentially agricultural use, there’s no need to treat it prior to use. I would be surprised if they don’t just pump it directly from the river to the course. It’s all going to end up in the same river after the fact anyway. Not all of us live in near-deserts.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

rufus_foreman 2y ago

5 million gallons is approximately the amount the Mississippi river discharges in one second.