The UK faces a potential water crisis due to the expansion of data centers, which require vast amounts of water for cooling systems.
The UK is at risk of facing a significant water shortage due to the rapid expansion of data centers, as highlighted in a report by Water UK.
These facilities require substantial water for cooling systems to manage the heat produced by high-density server setups. Water consumption is escalating not just from cooling towers but also due to the increasing energy demands of these centers.
Water UK criticized government forecasts for water usage as fundamentally flawed, claiming they overlook the water needs of data centers entirely. In a report submitted to Parliament, they pointed out that the government's policies regarding AI growth zones and related strategies do not address water resources.
Moreover, the Environment Agency's latest national water resources program, published in June 2025, failed to assess the water requirements of data centers, according to Water UK.
"With already ambitious targets for reducing water leaks and consumption, the only feasible solutions for new water supplies are either to extract more from the environment or to construct new infrastructure, which can take years to establish," the report noted.
Slough, which hosts the highest concentration of data centers in the UK, is currently experiencing a hosepipe ban due to water scarcity. Approximately 125 centers are either planned or under construction in this area, serviced by Affinity Water.
Affinity Water revealed that some data centers are requesting water supplies of up to 3 million liters per day, comparable to the peak usage of a small town with around 3,500 homes. Currently, regulations mandate that data centers use only potable water, leading to daily consumption of approximately 6.6 million liters. If the government succeeds in its goal to triple computing capacity by 2030, this could surge to 19.8 million liters daily.
In a related development, New York's Governor recently imposed a moratorium on the construction of large data centers pending new legislation, while reports surfaced about data center management in Texas bypassing public ecological oversight.
