Thread

Improper redaction reveals Google Data Center water and electricity usage

384 points · 503 comments · sensanaty

motionlessveloc · 1791146077 · focus · HN ↗
I don't really understand the hand-wringing about data centers and water. Unlike fossil fuels, when you "use" water, it doesn't go away, it goes back out into the environment. And since DCs use it for cooling, not some industrial process, it doesn't even contaminate the water in any meaningful way.
The one exception is if they're using fossil water pumped from aquifers, which doesn't renew (back into the aquifer that is), but nobody seems to bother to make the distinction.
1. 0xbadcafebee · 1791146784 · focus · HN ↗
  The water for the datacenter comes from the same place residents, farmers, etc get their water. If there is already not a lot of water, the datacenter can cause running out of water. Sending used water downstream doesn't magically reappear upstream.
  1. rileymat2 · 1791149438 · focus · HN ↗
    In some cases there is no stream involved at all, which is more problematic, but is pumped from groundwater.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.