Это самые «жаждущие» центры обработки данных Google

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, locates Google’s data centers that consume the most water in America.

Why do data centers need water? It’s because computer servers generate significant heat that must be dissipated to maintain performance.

As a result, water is used in chiller plants, evaporative cooling systems, and humidification to manage temperature levels.

Data is sourced from Google’s 2024 Environment Report.

Ranked: Google’s Thirstiest Data Centers

Google’s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa consumed nearly 1 billion gallons of water in 2023, by far the most by any single complex listed in their report.

All of that water was potable, i.e., safe for drinking.

The data center complexes in Mayes County, Oklahoma and Berkeley County, South Carolina are the next “thirstiest,” using 750–800 million gallons of water a year.

These top three locations are well-above their counterparts across the U.S., and the rest of the world in water usage.

Fun fact: the U.S. has nearly half of the world’s 12,000 data centers. Germany and the UK are distant runners-up.

Together all of Google’s data centers used nearly more than 6 billion gallons of water in 2023, the equivalent of 41 golf courses.

Do Google’s Data Centers Drink Water?

Technically, data centers don’t actually “consume” all the water they use. Most of it is circulated in a closed-loop cooling system, with some loss.

However these numbers are from Google’s Sustainability Report, which specifies the water it’s withdrawn from the supply, discharged, and “consumed,” with the latter visualized here.

Also in drier areas, water is actively used to control humidity by evaporation which means it is being lost to the surroundings.

Finally, heated water returned to the ecosystem can have an adverse environmental impact.

The other thing data centers need a lot of: electricity. Check out Data Center Electricity Consumption by State for a breakdown.