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Also from that article: > U.S. data centers consume 449 million gallons of water per day and 163.7 billion gallons annually (as of 2021). Sounds bad! Now let'

by simonw 1y ago

Also from that article: > U.S. data centers consume 449 million gallons of water per day and 163.7 billion gallons annually (as of 2021). Sounds bad! Now let's compare that to agriculture. USGS 2015 report: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2018/3035/fs20183035.pdf https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2018/3035/fs20183035.pdf has irrigation at 118 billion gallons per day - that's 43,070 billion gallons per year. 163.7 billion / 43,070 billion * 100 = 0.38 - less than half a percentage point. It's very easy to present water numbers in a way that looks bad until you start comparing them thoughtfully. I think comparing data center water usage to domestic water usage by people living in towns is actually quite misleading. UPDATE: I may be wrong about this, see following comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45926469#45927945 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45926469#45927945

belter 1y ago
I am surprised by your analytical mistake of comparing irrigation water with data-center water usage... They are not equivalent. Data centers primarily consume potable water, whereas irrigation uses non-potable or agricultural-grade water. Mixing the two leads to misleading conclusions on the impact.
- simonw 1y ago
  That's a really good point - you're right, comparing data center usage to potable water usage by towns is a different and more valid comparison than comparing with water for irrigation.
  - wasabi991011 1y ago
    They made a good point, but keep in mind that they're doing a "rules for thee, not for me" sometimes. The same person who mentioned potable water being an important distinction also cited a report on data center water consumption that did not make the distinction (where the 628M number came from).
  - belter 1y ago
    The problem is many data centers are in areas where water systems are supply constrained... - https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage
- wasabi991011 1y ago
  This is not a distinction that your second link (that has the 628M number) was making either > water evaporation from hydroelectric dam reservoirs in their water use calculations
  - belter 1y ago
    The factual soundness of my argument is independent of the report quality :-) the report influences comprehension, not correctness... The fact data centers are already having a major impact on the public water supply systems is known, by the decisions some local governments are forced to do, if you care to investigate... https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage "...in some regions where data centers are concentrated—and especially in regions already facing shortages—the strain on local water systems can be significant. Bloomberg News reports that about two-thirds of U.S. data centers built since 2022 are in high water-stress areas. In Newton County, Georgia, some proposed data centers have reportedly requested more water per day than the entire county uses daily. Officials there now face tough choices: reject new projects, require alternative water-efficient cooling systems, invest in costly infrastructure upgrades, or risk imposing water rationing on residents...." https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-centers-water-data/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-cent...
abathur 1y ago
Agriculture feeds people, Simon. It's fair to be critical of how the ag industry uses that water, but a significant fraction of that activity is effectively essential. If you're going to minimize people's concern like this, at least compare it to discretionary uses we could ~live without. The data's about 20 years old, but for example https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%20Center/how-much-water-does-golf-use.pdf https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%2... suggests we were using over 2b gallons a day to water golf courses.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- simonw 1y ago
  I called out golf in my first comment in this thread. If data center usage meant we didn't have enough water for agriculture I would shout that from the rooftops.
  - abathur 1y ago
    Yep--I'm agreeing that one's a good comparison to elaborate on. Exploring how it stacks up against an essential use probably won't persuade people who perceive it as wasteful.
- IncreasePosts 1y ago
  Agriculture is generally essential but that doesn't mean that any specific thing done in the name of agriculture is essential. If Americans cut their meat consumption by 10%, we would use a lot less water in agriculture and probably also live longer in general
  - energy123 1y ago
    Iran's ongoing water crisis is an example. One cause of it is unnecessary water-intensive crops that they could have imported or done without (just consume substitutes). It's a common reasoning error to bundle up many heterogeneous things into a single label ("agriculture!") and then assign value to the label itself.

by simonw 1y ago

belter 1y ago

I am surprised by your analytical mistake of comparing irrigation water with data-center water usage... They are not equivalent. Data centers primarily consume potable water, whereas irrigation uses non-potable or agricultural-grade water. Mixing the two leads to misleading conclusions on the impact.

simonw 1y ago
That's a really good point - you're right, comparing data center usage to potable water usage by towns is a different and more valid comparison than comparing with water for irrigation.
- wasabi991011 1y ago
  They made a good point, but keep in mind that they're doing a "rules for thee, not for me" sometimes. The same person who mentioned potable water being an important distinction also cited a report on data center water consumption that did not make the distinction (where the 628M number came from).
- belter 1y ago
  The problem is many data centers are in areas where water systems are supply constrained... - https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage
wasabi991011 1y ago
This is not a distinction that your second link (that has the 628M number) was making either > water evaporation from hydroelectric dam reservoirs in their water use calculations
- belter 1y ago
  The factual soundness of my argument is independent of the report quality :-) the report influences comprehension, not correctness... The fact data centers are already having a major impact on the public water supply systems is known, by the decisions some local governments are forced to do, if you care to investigate... https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usage "...in some regions where data centers are concentrated—and especially in regions already facing shortages—the strain on local water systems can be significant. Bloomberg News reports that about two-thirds of U.S. data centers built since 2022 are in high water-stress areas. In Newton County, Georgia, some proposed data centers have reportedly requested more water per day than the entire county uses daily. Officials there now face tough choices: reject new projects, require alternative water-efficient cooling systems, invest in costly infrastructure upgrades, or risk imposing water rationing on residents...." https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-centers-water-data/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-cent...

abathur 1y ago

Agriculture feeds people, Simon. It's fair to be critical of how the ag industry uses that water, but a significant fraction of that activity is effectively essential. If you're going to minimize people's concern like this, at least compare it to discretionary uses we could ~live without. The data's about 20 years old, but for example https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%20Center/how-much-water-does-golf-use.pdf https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%2... suggests we were using over 2b gallons a day to water golf courses.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
simonw 1y ago
I called out golf in my first comment in this thread. If data center usage meant we didn't have enough water for agriculture I would shout that from the rooftops.
- abathur 1y ago
  Yep--I'm agreeing that one's a good comparison to elaborate on. Exploring how it stacks up against an essential use probably won't persuade people who perceive it as wasteful.
IncreasePosts 1y ago
Agriculture is generally essential but that doesn't mean that any specific thing done in the name of agriculture is essential. If Americans cut their meat consumption by 10%, we would use a lot less water in agriculture and probably also live longer in general
- energy123 1y ago
  Iran's ongoing water crisis is an example. One cause of it is unnecessary water-intensive crops that they could have imported or done without (just consume substitutes). It's a common reasoning error to bundle up many heterogeneous things into a single label ("agriculture!") and then assign value to the label itself.