3 ms·

Data centers often use drinking water for cooling and let the heated water flow into the local rivers and streams. At least in my locale.

bee_rider 2y ago
That seems quite different; the water isn’t used up at all. Of course there could be some consequence of dumping heat into the water (my gut says—usually it turns out we don’t have enough power to appreciably change the temperature of a river, but I guess it depends on the rate of flow of the river and the amount of heat).
- wlesieutre 2y ago
  We’re sucking water out of aquifers and dumping it in the ocean, the aquifers are not replenishing. The water still exists yes, but ground water is essentially “used up.”
  - devilbunny 2y ago
    Maybe your municipality does. My city water is from a river. It is withdrawn, treated, used, treated as sewage, and then dumped back in the river. Even water used for irrigation eventually ends up there.
- steanne 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_pollution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_pollution "When water used as a coolant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature, the sudden change in temperature decreases oxygen supply and affects ecosystem composition. Fish and other organisms adapted to particular temperature range can be killed by an abrupt change in water temperature (either a rapid increase or decrease) known as "thermal shock". Warm coolant water can also have long term effects on water temperature, increasing the overall temperature of water bodies, including deep water. Seasonality effects how these temperature increases are distributed throughout the water column. Elevated water temperatures decrease oxygen levels, which can kill fish and alter food chain composition, reduce species biodiversity, and foster invasion by new thermophilic species."

3 ms·

Data centers often use drinking water for cooling and let the heated water flow into the local rivers and streams. At least in my locale.

by Rotundo 2y ago

bee_rider 2y ago
That seems quite different; the water isn’t used up at all. Of course there could be some consequence of dumping heat into the water (my gut says—usually it turns out we don’t have enough power to appreciably change the temperature of a river, but I guess it depends on the rate of flow of the river and the amount of heat).
- wlesieutre 2y ago
  We’re sucking water out of aquifers and dumping it in the ocean, the aquifers are not replenishing. The water still exists yes, but ground water is essentially “used up.”
  - devilbunny 2y ago
    Maybe your municipality does. My city water is from a river. It is withdrawn, treated, used, treated as sewage, and then dumped back in the river. Even water used for irrigation eventually ends up there.
- steanne 2y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_pollution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_pollution "When water used as a coolant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature, the sudden change in temperature decreases oxygen supply and affects ecosystem composition. Fish and other organisms adapted to particular temperature range can be killed by an abrupt change in water temperature (either a rapid increase or decrease) known as "thermal shock". Warm coolant water can also have long term effects on water temperature, increasing the overall temperature of water bodies, including deep water. Seasonality effects how these temperature increases are distributed throughout the water column. Elevated water temperatures decrease oxygen levels, which can kill fish and alter food chain composition, reduce species biodiversity, and foster invasion by new thermophilic species."