Texas has long been defined by oil, heat, and huge infrastructure projects. Now, it’s also at the center of a growing environmental debate. Microsoft’s Stargate campus in Abilene is leading a data center boom that is drawing concern over water use, right in the middle of a prolonged drought. According to a July 2025 investigation
Not all “water use” is the same. Agriculture returns it to environment through drainage into acquifiers and rain cycle, though the rain can fall outside of community. Showers go through sewage system, and treatment recycles it. Fracking destroys water by polluting and sequestering it. Data centers cooling requirements do not need any treatment before returning water back to community’s clean water supply, afaiu, though certainly if treatment were needed, the data center should implement it.
We can/should be angry about datacenter electricity use if that makes electricity more scarce for the rest of us, and uses climate terrorist energy to do so. But water use should not be a problem. There would be a shower advisory anyway, without datacenter, afaik.
Article suggests that “evaporative cooling” means an open cooling cycle that releases steam. AFAIU, computer/data center cooling uses closed loops.
Not all “water use” is the same. Agriculture returns it to environment through drainage into acquifiers and rain cycle, though the rain can fall outside of community. Showers go through sewage system, and treatment recycles it. Fracking destroys water by polluting and sequestering it. Data centers cooling requirements do not need any treatment before returning water back to community’s clean water supply, afaiu, though certainly if treatment were needed, the data center should implement it.
We can/should be angry about datacenter electricity use if that makes electricity more scarce for the rest of us, and uses climate terrorist energy to do so. But water use should not be a problem. There would be a shower advisory anyway, without datacenter, afaik.
Article suggests that “evaporative cooling” means an open cooling cycle that releases steam. AFAIU, computer/data center cooling uses closed loops.