For the first time, Amazon is disclosing that its data centers used a staggering 2.5 billion gallons of water globally last year, but the tech giant is spinning its water use as a win.

In a blog post, the company says its data centers are “7x more water-efficient than the industry average.” It emphasizes efforts to use less water for cooling, as AI data centers face growing scrutiny over their environmental impacts and the strain they place on neighboring communities.

A leaked memo from 2022 projected Amazon’s data centers would use 7.7 billion gallons of water a year by 2030. In October, The Guardian reported that Amazon had been strategizing about how to keep the public in the dark about the water usage, which reached 10.5 billion gallons in 2021, or “more than 95,000 US households.”

In November, SourceMaterial also reported that Amazon had 924 data centers worldwide, a figure that’s bound to grow as it builds new data centers focused on AI training and services.

Amazon’s blog post doesn’t address the earlier reports. But the company told us the 2.5 billion gallon figure comes from utility water meters and third-party auditors. Amazon’s blog post also put a positive spin on the number, saying: “To put that in perspective, Americans use roughly 3.3 trillion gallons a year to water their lawns and gardens, according to the EPA—meaning every year landscape irrigation uses over 1,300 times more water than our data centers.”

The company also notes it’s been using “reclaimed” water, which involves “sourcing from wastewater treatment plants instead of using drinkable water.” It now operates 26 facilities using 100% reclaimed water, “more than any other cloud provider, with 130 more contracted globally.” In addition, Amazon’s data centers only rely on water cooling during the hottest days of the year; the majority of the cooling is provided through air pulled in from outside.

The company’s ultimate goal is to be “water positive by 2030, meaning that for every gallon of water we use in our data center operations, we will return more than a gallon back.” Amazon says it’s already reached 75% of the goal.

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/news/amazon-our-data-centers-used-25-billion-gallons-of-water-last-year