The UK’s National Drought Group has urged citizens to cut water use by fixing leaks, taking shorter showers — and deleting old photos and emails stored in the cloud. The advice, issued after its 11 August meeting, comes as England faces a “nationally significant” water shortfall, with five regions officially in drought and six experiencing prolonged dry weather after the driest first half of the year since 1976.
Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s Director of Water and NDG chair, said “everyone” should act, noting that some data centres still rely on cooling systems that consume large volumes of fresh water.
Data-centre cooling needs are linked to electricity demand, which is rising sharply as AI workloads expand. The International Energy Agency estimates global data-centre power use at 415 terawatt hours in 2024, potentially more than doubling by 2030. Evaporative cooling in older or high-density sites can drive significant water consumption, though many modern facilities use closed-loop systems that sharply reduce drawdown.
Industry figures point out that compute-intensive AI training accounts for a far greater share of data-centre water and energy use than static storage of archived files, making personal cloud clean-ups a symbolic but limited contribution.
Government policy aims to expand AI-capable infrastructure to at least 6GW by 2030, balancing industrial priorities with environmental impact. Cloud operators including Microsoft are trialling near-zero-water cooling designs, though shifting away from evaporative systems can increase power demand, creating trade-offs with decarbonisation goals.
Local opposition to new sites — on grounds from environmental harm to grid strain — is growing, with ministers considering planning-law changes to speed critical builds.
Analysts say household actions help engage the public, but the largest savings will come from industry and regulators accelerating low-water cooling adoption, retrofitting older facilities, and siting new capacity where power and water supplies can sustain it.
The NDG’s appeal, experts add, is a reminder that small, visible steps must be paired with systemic investment and regulation if the UK is to host world-class AI infrastructure while protecting scarce water resources.
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