3 ms·
There are closed-loop datacenters, but the hyperscalers now use evaporation chimneys. Google used ~21bn litres of water in 2023-24.
by OtherShrezzing 2y ago
There are closed-loop datacenters, but the hyperscalers now use evaporation chimneys. Google used ~21bn litres of water in 2023-24.
- voidUpdate 2y agoDoesn't that fall back down again as fresh rainwater?
- eesmith 2y agoSure. While lowering the recharge rate on the aquifer, the river flow, etc. Instead of being re-used downstream, it's re-used downwind. Snow melt original destined for the over-allocated Colorado might instead end up in the Mississippi. All that irrigation water pumped out of the ground in the southwest falls back as rain too. While the land subsides, plants can no longer reach water, and towns have to build deeper wells.