Data centres putting strain on water supplies
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The reading
The National Drought Group (NDG), an environmental organization in the UK, has warned that data centres are putting a strain on the country's water supplies. This is also a concern in many other countries. The group did not indicate to what degree these facilities are contributing to drought conditions in many parts of the UK. It is estimated that the centres use up to 10 billion litres of water per year to cool their giant facilities. One water company reported that a large data centre can use as much water as 50,000 households. Despite concerns from environmentalists, the UK is pushing ahead to build many more data centres. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said they were essential for economic growth.
The NDG has urged Britons to take measures to cut back on their water consumption. One such measure is to trash unwanted emails and large images. The group claims this will lessen the demand for water. A government website suggested deleting old emails and pictures "as data centres require vast amounts of water to cool their systems". NDG chairperson Helen Wakeham said a simple everyday action such as tidying up one's inbox and spam and trash folders will "really help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife". However, it is likely that the water saved from people deleting files stored in the cloud is merely a drop in the ocean.
Sources:
- https://www.theverge.com/science/758275/drought-delete-files-email-data-center-water-uk
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-drought-group-meets-to-address-nationally-significant-water-shortfall
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyr9nx0jrzo
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