Data Centers Consume 80-215% More Water When Power Generation Is Included

New research shows data centers use far more water than the cooling systems inside their buildings suggest. Once you count the water used to generate the electricity that powers them, total water use runs 80% to 215% higher than on-site cooling alone. A data center cooled directly uses water on site, but the power plant supplying its electricity also draws water, mostly for cooling steam-driven turbines at gas and nuclear plants.

The type of power plant matters a lot. A typical natural gas plant adds about 80% more water use on top of what the data center itself consumes. Nuclear power plants use much more water for cooling, adding around 215% more. Wind and solar power need no cooling water at all, so a utility that relies more on renewables lowers the total water footprint of the data centers it serves.

This matters most to homeowners living near where new data centers and power plants are being built, especially in the Southeast, where utilities are adding gas plants and considering new nuclear plants to meet rising demand. More water-intensive power generation in your area can mean more strain on local rivers and water supplies, even if you never see a data center yourself. Some newer gas plants use "dry" cooling that needs much less water, but most existing plants still rely on water-cooled systems, and any new nuclear plants are expected to as well.