Data centers consume millions of gallons of Arizona water daily

Massive buildings are sprouting from our desert landscapes, their footprints normally more than a million square feet. The structures are filled with computer servers processing and storing huge amounts of data.

[@l15t3nr]

Citizens having access to water is obviously more important. They'll need to invest a portion of those multi billion dollar profits towards sustainable cooling and stop wasting so much water.

[@punker4Real]

so they're wasting the water cooling the servers

[@medomedolino]

If you ask elected officials, it's not. Them getting their bribe is most important.

[@danechristmas6570]

@@punker4Real YES

[@MAEURASTAR]

WE DON'T NEED FB drying up AZ!

[@fufrasking]

\ROLLSEYES

[@gixellia8455]

WE DON'T NEED FB. Period!

[@adventureseeker9800]

We also dont need them stealing everyone's personal information or helping the U.S. government spy on it's own citizens either.

[@miked8653]

Pure stupidity. 🤢

[@dls951]

​@rattlesnake pete Arizona is 8000 miles away from Saudi Arabia and you don't think them Arabs can get hay a bit closer to home?

[@mrjebadia2582]

And don't forget Nestle bottling water and exporting it.

[@unregisteredcoward]

agriculture is, by far, the biggest consumer of water ... like 70%. Nestle is a distraction.

[@Dweller415]

@@unregisteredcoward uhhh we need agricultural output unless we want to depend on China for food also.

[@unregisteredcoward]

@@Dweller415 sure ... but if you want to address the issue, you identify where the water is being used and than figure out how to use less. that's how smart people tackle problems

[@BluRey100]

Mexico does the same with Mexican Coca-Cola. it's Mexican Water. Duh!

[@michaelrodriguez9325]

We can save water by banning agriculture, then we can eat each other instead. Heard they taste like bacon! Mmm bacon, yummy 😋

[@muttsdisorder01]

Lake Mead at all time low. Arizona government: we need more expansion so that are precious resources are all used up. Let me guess. The contract with Facebook will be written up so Facebook has first rights to water use.

[@moonsitter1375]

Geothermal cooling would work, but be expensive for the company to initially employ. Put the onus on them, not on us.

[@codymarrott9409]

Wer don't need Facebook at all shut them off shut them down

[@Conorscorner]

@@codymarrott9409 we don't need it but your parents do.

[@scottgraver6792]

Like the old adage " You can't get blood from a stone". When the water is gone it is gone.

[@bigfatdavebigfatdave7395]

Didn’t hear how the water is ‘consumed’. If its for cooling purposes it’s either a closed system or It’s being returned to the supply. If its not a closed system, what is the loss due to evaporation. Is the water somehow being contaminated during its use? Lots of questions unanswered in this ‘report’

[@BluRey100]

SHE IS FROM THE 60'S SHE DOES NOT EVEN KNOW THAT A COMPUTER DOES NOT "EAT" WATER.

[@whidbeyhiker4364]

If the water is consumed then it is not a closed-loop system. FWIW, we have an open-loop cooling system for pump bearings, and for three small pumps, the cost in water is 40,000 dollars a year. We have a project in to fix that problem. It will pay for itself in a few years.

[@whidbeyhiker4364]

@Juan Taco Citiation required because that is not how refrigeration works.

[@whidbeyhiker4364]

@Juan Taco LOL, dude, you have no idea what you are talking about on any of this. You should just take your loser ass home.

[@whidbeyhiker4364]

@Juan Taco LOL, sad little loser.

[@bradleysmith3284]

This water should be recirculated and reused over and over, or the hot water returned to the source. This is B.S.

[@BoltRM]

Those are the big questions which this story completely failed to answer. Will the water be RE-USED _properly_ ? If not, then this woman is the only person who has any sense at all. The rest need to be replaced.

[@stevec8861]

You don't understand how swamp coolers work. They are common AC systems in arid low humidity places like Nevada, Utah, Arizona. They are not the refrigeration AC systems used in most places that discharge chilled water taken from the hot humid air. The evaporated water from the swamp cooler is taking the heat away from the building. There is no hot water from a swamp cooler to return anywhere nearby; it evaporated and will return as rain somewhere else far away from the desert.

[@ecuriouz]

@@stevec8861 Are you saying that data centers use swamp coolers? I thought swamp coolers blow through cooler air (due the evaporation process), BUT, that cooler air is not exactly ideal for electronics due to increased humidity.

[@stevec8861]

@@ecuriouz Yes, but way more the data centers. Common to cool via evaporated water taking heat from building, certainly in AZ, but the evaporated water goes to atmosphere to return somewhere far from desert as rain.

[@ecuriouz]

@@stevec8861 Thank you for taking the time to explain, cheers.

[@u2mister17]

These computer systems have been used up north to heat their buildings in the winter for decades.

[@AZMTB]

I worked for an IT company and we were leasing space from inside CyrusOne datacenter in Chandler. One of my responsibilities was hosting guided tours of the facility to prospective clients who were looking at hosting their data and/or hardware with us. The datacenter's cooling was a closed loop system and did not come into contact with city/ground water whatsoever. They were massive 90,000 sq ft data halls, many of them, so I'm not sure what type of cooling this new datacenter is going to use that much water. They also had to dig massive pits below parking lots to install gigantic water catchment tanks so that rain water was captured and slowly released back into the soil instead of sending it into the storm drains. They were very conscious of water preservation.

[@paulbruney1704]

Quit watering all the golf courses. This is a desert region and we need all the water we can get.

[@BluRey100]

troon is rolling in his grave.

[@jonspeidel]

1.75 million gallons a day? You guys seriously can't use a radiator to cool the water before it goes back? Goofy...

[@raybroomall8383]

Using a closed system heat pump the cold side uses the earth as a heat sink. Buried PVC tubing would transfer heat into the ground (approximately 55°F @ -6 ft). This kind of system would reduce the water requirement by more than 90 percent. The up front costs to bury several thousand feet of tubing is substantial but the long range saving would be even larger.

[@brianbice2819]

Let them use untreated waste water to cool those servers!

[@bluemingsounds2837]

lol 😂😂

[@queenmaryellen]

BRAWNDO!!!

[@cutratecontractor1000]

You see the thermal bridging effect works well as the turds draw the heat out of the servers. Well done lad!

[@georgemead6608]

let, no FORCE them to install enough solar panels to run refrigeration, they can afford it

[@sanansa4567]

@@georgemead6608 that's the only way. Force Private For Profit Corporations to be sustainable. But it needs to be done in all states, because otherwise they will just move to another state that doesn't require it. Instead of just forcing tax payers to pay for other people to switch to solar/electric vehicles (through tax subsidies). Let corporations do it, they love to virtue signal to sell their products/services, let's see how they react when they are forced to put their money where their mouth is. they will cry about 'job losses', but corporate exec fire/lay people off anyway just to line their own greedy pockets, so I could care less if it eats into their profits (and it will create jobs to build/maintain the solar infrastructure).

[@ricksadler797]

Don’t they just cycle it through like a power plant does???

[@isaac198428]

Build these data centers closer to the ocean, figure out a way to desalinate the water and use as much as possible since that water is readily available. Problem solved! lol

[@miles5600]

that's more expensive so they won't do that.

[@JoelGetzhasauselessurl]

Microsoft has developed a system that puts a shipping container sized "data center" underwater and the ocean keeps the computers cool.

[@starbase51shiptestingfacil97]

Data Centers are probably better off in the Artic, Alaska, Chicago, Canada. The processors provide all the heating.

[@funfreq9282]

The better idea is to make the equipment the data centers run on more efficient! Design them to run cooler and eliminate the need for the cooling system in the first place.

[@sunroameroverland]

Isn't the water released after use or even run in a closed loop? or does that not fit your panic narrative?

[@EzeePosseTV]

Exactly my thoughts. How does a load of computer equipment "consume" water? They think we are stupid or something.

[@Chitownprince83]

That is why I view the media as entertainment only. Sadly, some people can’t see it.

[@dls951]

Nope, those servers are so hot that they boil the water into steam, that steam forms cumulus clouds that float over Texas and cause massive flooding, Duh? And my story makes just as much sense as this one, So don't be clappin back at me!

[@EzeePosseTV]

@@dls951 Sorry but I'm clapping back at you. You do know that the steam can be recovered in a condenser tower and turned back to water and recycled through the same system with a fraction of loss.

[@dls951]

@@EzeePosseTV Bruh, you should contact FaceBook with that Big Brain Idea!

[@Robert-ff9wf]

The mayor is absolutely right and can't believe she's the only one concerned about this!!!!

[@BluRey100]

she lives in the 60's she does not understand how data centers work

[@jamescarlson6723]

All states are running out of potable water. COlorado with its POPULATION GROSING LEAPS AND BOUNDS has the same issue with this diminishing resource and it NOT FOCUSING on this same issue. Colorado has an average of 14 inches of precipitation per year. It, I believe, is maxed out now. It is simply not discussed.

[@Bauks]

Me: In the land of 10,000 lakes, Looks out window at a super full Lake Superior... I'm glad we have the great lakes water compact, so we don't pipe the water out it sell it to nestle.

[@tpolerex7282]

Time to incorporate “purple pipes”, reclaimed waste water treated but not to potable standards and hook up facilities like these - and agriculture to that supply system.

[@bgroks1]

Are there chemicals in that water? I wonder how it would interact with the metals they use to cool the servers. Could it shorten the life span of the cooling system due to erosion?

[@ducatipaso1386]

And who gets the bill for this pipeline that will bring industrial water to the data center from the sewage treatment plant?

[@godzeus9702]

Golf courses and public pools get rid of them.

[@wngimageanddesign9546]

The real offenders are golf courses in the Valley.....65% of annual water usage is to keep golf courses green year round. Even if no one is playing in the Summer's 118 F temps. And there are few public pools....it's the tens of thousands of private pools that are wasting all the water. Just keeping up with the evaporation during Summer, revealed my pool's level float valve was open continuously 24/7. I regretted buying a house with a pool after experiencing the years of maintenance and cost. For so little actual use.

[@godzeus9702]

@@wngimageanddesign9546 oh and water parks that Arizona has shut those down too. If people think that is wrong good because if you think about it. Would you rather have water to drink or to bathe in with other peoples sweat and A$$ H@L$ at public water parks.

[@BluRey100]

computers dont' "consume" water. duh! it's passive! it's a revenue stream!

[@dandonovan2858]

The internal combustion engine has been around for over one hundred years. It produces heat in extreme amounts, but it also has a cooling system. using the same type of cooling system is a very, very simple solution to this problem. All you really need to do is recycle the water through the system, figure out how much heat is put into the cooling system and simply build a system to remove that same amount of heat, maybe a few degrees more. factories have been doing this for decades.

[@jayhuang7747]

Maybe FB young engineers never heard of closed loop cooling systems. They only know cars don't need to fuel.

[@MrMajikman1]

@@jayhuang7747 🤣🤣🤣

[@thedocisin3204]

Why not build these in Alaska or Maine where it's colder to begin with?

[@korelly]

Canada, especially Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia have much water and surpluses of clean hydroelectricity, even cheaper than in most parts of the US (like 8 centsCND/kWh) and they could use the heat of the datacenter to heat office or residential buildings, or even greenhouses to grow vegetables. Installing a datacenter in a desertic and hot state, with a lack of water, is a totally irresponsible and crazy idea. Moreover, the heat can't be used for a useful purpose. And the state of Arizona produces most of its electricity from non-renewable ressources.

[@dcsteve7869]

Something doesn't ad up in this story. To even approach some of the consumption rates they are stating you would need a flow rate of over 770gpm. The energy required to evaporate that much water far exceeds the typical consumption for the average sized datacenter even taking into consideration the losses from the actual work done.

[@dalestephan6777]

Need a close loop system with pumps and cooling towers. They dont want to do that.. send them down the road..

[@hesseldijkstra5327]

Indeed such a simple solution, unbelievable that it's not demanded.

[@utistudent099]

@@hesseldijkstra5327 Servers are very temperamental and need very specific temperatures and the cooling water is refrigerated and maintained at a specific temp. It takes a lot of water movement to cool these units and the evaporation is significant

[@stevec8861]

You don't understand how swamp coolers work. They are common AC systems in arid low humidity places like Nevada, Utah, Arizona. They are not the refrigeration AC systems used in most places that discharge chilled water taken from the hot humid air. The evaporated water from the swamp cooler is taking the heat away from the building. There is no water from a swamp cooler to return anywhere nearby; it evaporated and will return as rain somewhere else far away from the desert.

[@Chitownprince83]

Sooooo, the water can’t be used? Are the computers drinking water now?? This whole story makes no sense.

[@flutura2769]

You obviously didn't watch the video or have any idea about technology. Computers and data servers need water for cooling especially if they are working all the time

[@Chitownprince83]

@@flutura2769 I have watched the video and I am well aware of technology. Another thing I know is water can be reused. It doesn’t just disappear. It can cool their servers and it’s still drinkable. Before you attack anyone, you should try to think for yourself. Don’t believe everything the media says.

[@flutura2769]

@@Chitownprince83 no the water isn't reusable since it vaporizes which makes the cooling more efficient. It takes s lot of water and that's why many companies have their servers in cold locations not in the desert.

[@Chitownprince83]

@@flutura2769 yea. Sure. You’re like the smartest girl in the world. I forgot. I wonder how some people make it thru life sometimes.

[@flutura2769]

@@Chitownprince83 Instead of getting all personal try to inform yourself thank you

[@michaelbauerle9182]

Namely she did not get her cut of the money so she is against it

[@BluRey100]

i would'nt give her any money, she is clearly stuck in the 1960's

[@benjaminwebb5759]

You know that can put these data storage computers under ground. Where the temperature is better controlled.

[@graciescottsdale]

Geothermal

[@BluRey100]

the old Salt Mine Restaurant in Tempe would be perfect for them>

[@BluRey100]

SALT CELLAR IN TEMPE WOULD BE PERFECT.

[@BluRey100]

@Madlum Sibul use the waste water from Palo Verde Nuclear Plant. location IS relevant. also: one would never build a data center in the pacific ocean, the electronics would oxidize in a couple yrs. LOCATION IS RELEVANT.

[@ecuriouz]

I keep wondering that, or at least pipe into the ground so they can cool their heated water off. Yes geothermal systems they do exist.

[@wylinout2257]

We have people flocking here in masses! Think that was a good choice. Homes and rentals already outrageous....

[@edwardfranco5127]

Scientists never took into account the Arctic would be melting 40 to 50 times faster. Just Google it you see all the black suit. Therefore calculations I left when they say 2030 will deal with climate change massive populations made a bad choice two thinks refugees American refugees in their own country good luck and good night.

[@BluRey100]

PLEASE. STUDIO IN WAIKIKI IS STILL $1,100-$1,200 NO KITCHEN, NO PARKING AND ONLY A TINY "WET BAR" SINK. WE ALSO HAVE 8 MILLION PEOPLE FLOCKING HERE BUT THEY ALWAYS LEAVE. LOL.

[@mhughes1160]

So does the water just disappear after they use it for cooling?

[@benjaminkline4855]

Most likely using a freon system or water loop system. Both of which need a swamp cooler/mist device outside to cool the condenser or radiators

[@Skeptic100100]

Well zuck its time to find another source for your BS data systems

[@BluRey100]

zuck is buying hawai'ian land and not telling the original owners. he is un-handedly offering money to the state for land, and the state is falling for this trap.

[@allkindz6792]

I guess when your rich you don't think about how it'll effect other people.

[@marshallbrannon8855]

You are absolutely right, These tech Giants have a God complex. their rules apply to us but not to them. Just like Bill Gates said that his favorite food is a hamburger but he wants to stop the rest of us from eating meat.

[@dls951]

I guess when your stupid you can't grasp the fact that the water is returned to the water supply! or you think those servers are Sooo hot they boil the water into steam, and is now flooding Texas?

[@cadilacdesert]

How about making everyone from back East and Midwest “where water is everywhere “ understand that they moved to the desert. Which is very fragile and unsustainable at the current rate of growth.

[@mikenuyen4441]

So after the cooling the water disappears?

[@davidkuitunen5286]

Do the data centers take the water and evaporate it into thin air or does the water get used and put back into the water system?

[@jasonoutman420]

Back into the system

[@mencken8]

The smart companies are the ones with their centers up in the mountains.

[@mencken8]

@Juan Taco Oh, right, what is wrong with me, I wasn’t thinking of a practical way to do it.

[@corypechon]

The consumption is likely through evaporative cooling towers, which use much less electricity, but consumes a lot of water

[@kizzywock3387]

It is, that is what most of these data centers use cause it's the most cost effective, but at what cost to us to the population.

[@SpaseGoast]

The data center should use a closed loop cooling system. That way the cooling system reuses the same water. Then there would only be an initial large consumption of water.

[@8ballwil]

We need to get these companies out of the desert. We also need to stop people from freely drilling wells to pump water. Going forward, water will need to be better regulated and managed.

[@freddog5218]

where does the water go after its used for cooling?

[@kenc2257]

It sounds like it goes into the waste water system--the sewer.

[@copisetic1104]

These Data centers should be in areas that have cooler weather and in areas with a lot of water. Maybe like Minnesota, Wisconsin.

[@LB-wt6zg]

refrig. air cond. produces huge heat to atmosphere from all these computer factories //how would you cool the cooling water // air

[@ErrorInvalidName]

Need to be using salt water systems for this, there's ways to do it without worrying about corrosion of parts.

[@tomcooley3778]

No farms no food . Think about it !

[@mistercohaagen]

What are they using swamp coolers? Wouldn't the water simply go through the system and end up hotter in the sewer?

[@Andy-df5fj]

Why can't the water be reused? Force facebook to make their cooling process sanitary, then reuse the water.

[@dirtybit5085]

The cooling process is simple - its evaporative. It's already sterile, it's a one way trip into the atmosphere with no potential for reuse unless it reenters the watershed via rain somewhere else.

[@Andy-df5fj]

@@dirtybit5085 It's an inefficient process in that it consumes water. Evaporative cooling is not the only way to cool even though it may be the cheapest and facebook can afford to pay for a system that doesn't consume water.

[@BluRey100]

or force FB to recycle Pee water for their use.

[@anad44]

I run a wastewater treatment plant. Why couldn’t reclaimed water (the purple pipe) be used? It could then be sent on for irrigation.

[@jeromewelch7409]

Purple pipe infrastructure is a ruse trust me I've been in the business for 35 years that's a recipe for disaster! The water and wastewater industry can't maintain the infrastructure already in existence and here we want to create yet more that will not be taken care of in perpetuity and will be a public crisis of health when you tap the wrong pipe.. Which already happens today more than most people would like to know...Peace

[@zudemaster]

But how would I know who to vote for without Facebook telling me?

[@santinoanthonymusillami2331]

Are they losing that many gallons everyday to evaporation through a cooling tower? Or are they using some kind of freshwater source that's cool already as means of cooling down the equipment and then dumping the water?

[@utistudent099]

It is like a water cooled ice maker. Water in , heat transfers and water out straight down the drain

[@jimhebson6793]

We don’t get the whole story. My question is, where does the water go after being used for cooling? Is it vented away as steam? Is it dumped out onto the desert floor? Poured down the sewer?

[@The411]

Into the air as humidity. Same as drying your clothes.

[@garypeckoltia1238]

Likely designed with evaporation towers. Water pours over surfaces and the evaporation carries away the heat just like the human body. There are other ways to cool with closed loop systems.

[@Toast0808]

Data centers use massive amounts of electricity and water for cooling. So why the frick would you build data centers in Arizona?

[@kenc2257]

First of all, I bet the cost of electricity is relatively cheap at the proposed location. Secondly, I bet that the cost of other resources--like water--is "market rate:" or reasonable for industrial users. Facebook will be fine paying market rate for the water.

[@michaelbauerle9182]

How about solar run AC

[@georgemead6608]

I run my computer 100% on solar, so can FB

[@BluRey100]

yes! those heat exchange panels!~

[@1diotwithideas]

What about if they have a reservoir where they use the water over and over until it's all evaporated so they slowly add more water instead of using that much water daily?

[@1diotwithideas]

@John Litchfield well I already kind of figured there would be a cooling tower

[@1diotwithideas]

@John Litchfield okay maybe I'm thinking wrong how did the cooling towers work for like big hotels and stuff like that it's basically an air conditioner but it's using water instead of like r22

[@1diotwithideas]

@John Litchfield with the cooling tower though you wouldn't need the water if you recirculating the same amount of water I don't know what the difference between incoming and outgoing temperatures would be cuz well I don't design the systems but that would limit the water loss so that would be less of a bill but it would be more costly to set it up initially

[@John_Doe_6996]

Seems unlikely that a datacenter would use an open loop system...seems more likely that they may reuse the same water daily...why risk contamination to the water cooling?

[@stevenk6638]

Gees - why not ask the obvious question : what happens to the water after it cools the servers ! ? The media ARE minimum wage ! You dont have to be smart, just beautiful !

[@wolfhunter6711]

That is what I was waiting for them to get to. They don’t consume it, they use it and release or reuse it.

[@pootthatbak2578]

Sorry i just asked that also..didnt read this hefore my rant above.

[@colmreynolds9869]

The media isn't here to educate you on every detail of the process. The water is evaporated, into the atmosphere. So no it doesn't go back into the system, except eventually some will turn into rain. (In the desert, it rarely rains, so most will end up being blown away by wind and falling far away) Thus, over 1,000,000 gallons a day out of the drinking supply.

[@colmreynolds9869]

You don't even have to be smart to Google "how data centers use water" But you have to be a real idiot to ignore the answer already in the comments and call the news stupid for being right about a simple problem.

[@colmreynolds9869]

You know someone is a trust fund fool when they think the news makes minimum wage AND pay rates are related to IQ. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@jonhofelich9107]

Data centers don't CONSUME all that water. It's a heat exchanger. The same sort of process that is used in many types of industry including electrical generating and manufacturing.

[@kizzywock3387]

And almost 2 years later and Lake Meade is almost dried up. No large boats and we are on water restrictions for us here in Nevada.

[@newinhuman]

they can use an oil rather than water... data centers will eventually mostly be wet... like aquariums

[@michaela2757]

Where does the water go, after it runs thru the cooling system? I’m guessing it’s a closed system.

[@GeraldMMonroe]

It becomes water vapor in the air, carrying heat away with it.

[@michaela2757]

@@GeraldMMonroe why not go underground and condense reverse geothermal and return to aqueduct

[@somethingsomeonesaid6455]

@@michaela2757 Why not a radiator?

[@michaela2757]

@@somethingsomeonesaid6455 I hear ya

[@michaela2757]

They say millions gallons of water daily, in the desert water is always a problem for thousands of years. The politicians OK the building these businesses I’m guessing, planning board whatever. I don’t ever live in the desert and I know not to waste water.

[@squiggymcsquig6170]

I don't get it...where does the water go after its used for cooling? Why can't it just be returned to the system?

[@Nukeyoutubehq]

Data is more valuable than water-Mark Cuckerberb

[@atlantisseacolony]

Underwater data centers. More secure, better cooling, untapped real estate. Microsoft has already tested this and it works.

[@mikeomolt4485]

Surely water goes in one end of the data centre, and out of the other.

[@dustinhaus1165]

How does using water to cool a server "consume" the water

[@Andy-df5fj]

My guess is evaporative cooling.

[@BluRey100]

so funny! computers don't EAT water and never release it. she does not know her robots very well.

[@-.-_123]

That's it!! Facebook is canceled!

[@royparker7856]

They may utilize a lot of water but do they "consume" it? Once the water cools the equipment, where does it go? It shouldn't just disappear into thin air. Once the water removes heat from the servers there should be warm water left that can go back into the system or cooled and reused to cool them again.

[@royparker7856]

@@christopherderasmo5041 of course there will be some evaporation in an open system. But cooling servers utilizes a closed system in which water is circulated through heat exchangers and keeps flowing. warmed water can be circulated through another exchange where the heat is removed and recirculated in the system. Surely they don't just dump it into a sewer and pump in fresh potable water.

[@baphomethamphetamine4003]

Seems the video is misleading

[@bhamptonkc7]

Cooling servers generally does not consume water if it is used for cooling

[@SuperSummit123]

Nahh those computers are super thirsty. If you don't believe me pour a glass of water on your laptop when you get home it'll soak it up like a sponge

[@joeldement]

y don't they have a closed loop system?

[@betterbuilt1114]

Geo Thermol cooling, use the earth as a heat sink.

[@car9167]

Probably it was cheaper to just waste water

[@davehallock3656]

Is it a good idea to send the heat into the planet? We are all ready warming up, is adding heat to the rock really that good of an idea? So the warming will come from the sky and the ground and we can just pretend to be the hot dogs getting cooked?

[@betterbuilt1114]

@@davehallock3656 absolutely a great idea! It’s not going to hurt anything.

[@car9167]

@@davehallock3656 If you think all the energy in a volume encompassing earth, is from the sun. It doesn't matter inside that volume you move heat from left to right, up to bottom. It's is not coming from outside.

[@TamimLB]

Amazon recently built a datacenter in Cape Town, many people were upset because Cape Town already has water problems.

[@dougcharles5004]

Just remember the water we have is all the water we will ever have.

[@irwinsaltzman979]

Cooling machinery in a desert?

[@johndowe7003]

biggest problem is having an open aqua duct. open canals lose up to 40% of its water due to evaporation..

[@4.0.4]

Cooling does not "consume" the water. It literally just goes through a long copper pipe, passes through heatsinks, and comes out clean.

[@4.0.4]

@@somedumbozzie1539 Well, journalists got one thing right: trust in the press is at an all-time low because of the spread of misinformation. I mean, before they point any fingers, that much is true.

[@laustinspeiss]

I love the ‘professional’ zoom commentators in their bedrooms.

[@ryandeboer9584]

Yea it has such a dystopian disconnect, forced bowel movement effect to it . All by design.

[@andrewj4426]

Did you just get out of prison? Crawl out from under a rock?

[@laustinspeiss]

@@andrewj4426 Who told you ? Yes - the whole of the US has just crawled out from under a crock.

[@ryandeboer9584]

@@andrewj4426 it’s a prison planet I will add.

[@g.k.1669]

People in Michigan's upper peninsula surrounded by cool air and unlimited cold water are scratching their heads wondering why someone would build that in a desert.

[@JaimeWarlock]

Move the data centers to high elevation (where it is cold) and they can just cool using fans.

[@EzeePosseTV]

Really!?! ... So how do these pieces of computer equipment "consume" water? The water it uses must go back into the environment. This needs a closed loop system with coolant towers and condenser. So that you only fill the reservoir once and your done. This is unnecessary panic mongering.

[@austindailey5778]

That was exactly my thinking. Most cooling systems like this are closed, or at worst make temporary use of the water. I'm curious to see where this is all going. It's not like it's being bottled up and shipped out or absorbed by crops that are sold across the country

[@EzeePosseTV]

@@austindailey5778 Exactly right. They are talking like the data center drinks the water and it's gone, unless data center's now have stomach's installed. lol

[@austindailey5778]

@@EzeePosseTV exactly! Unless this is some fancy new upgrade for the 2021 version of a data center... But like you said, it's all just fear mongering

[@EzeePosseTV]

@@austindailey5778 Yep, fear mongering in a bid to control the population who rely on that water.

[@lawrencefranck9417]

Move to the Mississippi River valley. It’s basically been in flood stage for five straight years.

[@briangc1972]

You can't use reclaimed water for industrial cooling systems. The water must be clean tap water, otherwise the dirt/sediment etc will corrode the heat exchangers. They should seriously be looking in a much cooler climate zone than the SW desert.

[@WarHawk-]

Maybe not but they can use it then send it downstream for use in agriculture or to water your [what?] 18 + golf courses that only a relatively few people use. If the water is only being used for cooling, then it should NOT be contaminated.

[@briangc1972]

@@WarHawk- That would require extensive piping from the industrial complexes to the agricultural users. Who would pay for that?

[@WarHawk-]

@@briangc1972 - If 'Z' wants his data center in AZ bad enough then he can pay for the cooling recovery infrastructure. He could certainly write if off as a business expense on his taxes plus gain a huge favorable opinion as an 'environmentalist' (at least on this project). Otherwise he can move on, which would be another way to eliminate the potential problems altogether.

[@lonbrouse6440]

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station evaporates approximately 100 million gallons of reclaimed water per day or over 69,000 gpm. (That means it has been filtered, precipitated and chlorinated to nearly tap water standards.) I worked at PVNGS for 5 years as the water treatment consultant and once the Water Treatment Plant finished its work, this largest electric generating station in the U.S. is still doing very well, 30 years after startup!

[@roachtoasties]

This makes no sense. You put data centers where there's cool air and plenty of energy (need I say Iceland?). You don't stick one in the middle of an Arizona desert with some of the highest temperatures in the nation that's running out of water.

[@AV8R_1]

The water doesn’t just vanish. After being used for cooling it is discharged back into the water supply or is evaporated into the atmosphere and eventually is rained back into the water supply. The only thing that actually “consumes“ water are plants and animals.

[@someguy6075]

If the water is being evaporated, there's a question of whether it precipitates back into the same watershed. The water being used in the dry season was stored in the reservoirs during the wet season. It's possible during the dry season the evaporated water is transported far away.

[@AV8R_1]

@@someguy6075 fair point.

[@HutchinsonJC]

1) You don't control where it rains well enough to say it's not consumed in the context of where it was used from. It's not like you can just put it back where you got it from. There are certain Hydroelectric and other things that are all reliant on that water supply. You can't just evaporate it all and have it rain down else where. 2) Even plants and animals' water content is recycled back.

[@Nico-wg7dd]

How about placing the data centers in the pacific ocean since there is plenty of water there.

[@joeknowz4898]

How are the Almond farms doing ????

[@kaminoworker420]

They should use their massive amounts of money to cool and recycle the water they use.

[@matthewraven8859]

Put it in context. How does it compare to other industries?

[@MrBlackstar00]

Use Cryo cooling. Get it done people. Also let's start showing these CA refugees back to their own front door. Can't just run away from the problems you voted in people!

[@joechill344]

Maybe that tax cut ducey gave out that the people never voted for could've help fund solutions.

[@jabreck1934]

I guess you believe the whole country voted in Joe Biden too. Researched Arizona soil. “ considered to be some of the poorest soil in the country.”Wow!!!!! Didn’t know it was that bad.! Arizona’s good for testing nuclear weapons that’s about it

[@MrBlackstar00]

@@jabreck1934 1. Nope could care less, but we should not have to pay for others poor choices. 2. I would like to see a link to credible resources stating the soil in AZ is bad.

[@jabreck1934]

@@MrBlackstar00 that explains it. Incapable of doing basic research on your own.

[@shawnmiranda8521]

@@jabreck1934 the fact that Arizona is one of the biggest agricultural hits in the country next to California and Florida shows that our soil is good enough to sustain many farms

[@ryancappo]

They should create a large underground tank or partially underground tank of mineral oil or anti-freeze. Run some geo-thermal pipes down into the ground for cooling, but also above ground when the temperatures do get cool enough in the night time for half the year. Solar powered air conditioners can shade and cool the inside of the tank to help reduce the heat.

[@pamparker4047]

Tucson always had water protocols in place but in phoenix absolutely nothing

[@jonathans8]

a single korean-design SMR (so, a bit older than the US designs which have not been built yet) produces 90MW of power -- and coupled with desalination, 40kT water/day. that's over a million gallons of water every single day from just one reactor. these SMRs run for 80 years, they will cut power bills in half nationwide, and if the excess heat is not used for battery backup (yes, that's how it works with these, they will enable wind and solar to stop falling back on natgas) it can be used for desalination instead. you don't need to argue about data centers. you need a canal to bring seawater from the gulf of california to southwest AZ.

[@harryvarner6652]

If the water is used for cooling why would it not be recycled? What these tech giants can't cool the water and recycle it?

[@BluRey100]

she's talking like the computers EAT water and dont' return it. education anyone?

[@goldnlab]

It either requires the evaporation of water to reject the heat or much higher electrical usage with air-cooled set-ups. There is no free lunch for anything that requires energy.

[@punker4Real]

Higher electrical usage solar and wind power

[@kurtisrarick4812]

does the water disappear somehow? or is that their closed loop cooling flow rate? it would be extremely hard to evaporate all of that water. sounds like propaganda.

[@carstars]

Just downsize, maybe limitless growth doesn't work in the longer term?

[@withamarshview1436]

Today's world gives us anything we want, as much as we want, whenever we want, for as little cost as possible. For our children, getting what they want will be difficult, slow, and expensive-and some things will be impossible. will be difficult to. We need restraint in our consumption of resources. If we don't, future generations will be cursing us for our selfish exploitation or the planet for trivial and temporary amusements. We can do without more Facebook.

[@Chris_at_Home]

Years ago there were rumors of building these data centers in the Arctic of Alaska.

[@kenc2257]

I don't think that the cost of electricity is cheap in arctic Alaska.