The National Drought Group (NDG), an environmental organization the UK, has warned that data centres are putting a strain the country's water supplies. This is also a concern many other countries. The group did not indicate to what degree these facilities are contributing to drought conditions many parts the UK. It is estimated that the centres use to 10 billion litres water 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 environmentalists, the UK is pushing ahead to build many more data centres. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said they were essential economic growth.
The NDG has urged Britons to take measures to cut back their water consumption. One such measure is to trash unwanted emails and large images. The group claims this will lessen the demand water. A government website suggested deleting old emails and pictures "as data centres require vast amounts water to cool their systems". NDG chairperson Helen Wakeham said a simple everyday action such as tidying one's inbox and spam and trash folders will "really help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health our rivers and wildlife". However, it is likely that the water saved from people deleting files stored the cloud is merely a drop the ocean.
