- Over half of commercial data centres use water-free cooling systems
- Nearly 90 percent either monitor water use or don’t need to
What happened: techUK finds most English data centres consume low water volumes
A techUK report, produced in partnership with the Environment Agency, examined water use in commercial data centres across England. It found that 51 percent of surveyed sites use waterless cooling systems. As a result, 64 percent consume less than 10,000 cubic metres of water per year—less than a typical leisure centre or a Premier League football club.
The report also notes that 89 percent of operators either measure water use regularly or do not need to, thanks to closed-loop systems. Only 4 percent of sites reported using over 100,000 cubic metres annually—levels comparable with industrial manufacturing. TechUK highlighted that commercial data centres are innovating to limit water usage even as demand for compute grows. The report urged urgent collaboration between government, regulators and the digital infrastructure sector to align sustainable expansion with environmental resilience.
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Why it’s important
The study counters concerns that data centres are major drivers of water demand. Many operators already deploy efficient cooling that uses minimal water. This helps protect water resources, particularly in areas under stress. It also allows the sector to meet the UK’s ambition to grow compute capacity—linked to AI and cloud—without compromising sustainability. Insight into water use gaps helps improve planning and policy coordination.
The data fuels calls for better reporting standards, such as water usage effectiveness metrics and digital-first water strategies. Closing information gaps helps regulators anticipate long-term water risk tied to data centre expansion. Aligning infrastructure needs with environmental protection supports more resilient and responsible digital growth across the nation.
