Google releases data center water standards amid scrutiny

Facing increasing scrutiny over its data center water consumption, Google has released a set of guidelines intended to become an industry standard. The framework addresses concerns from communities about water use, power prices, and local pollution associated with new data centers. Google's proposed standards include a commitment to returning more water to local watersheds than its data centers consume by 2030, avoiding water-intensive cooling methods in regions already experiencing water stress, and contributing to local water infrastructure upgrades. The company also plans to disclose its water usage annually. While many of these commitments are not entirely new, Google is formalizing them into a framework it hopes other companies will adopt. In 2024, Google consumed 7.2 billion gallons of freshwater and replenished approximately 4.5 billion gallons, achieving a replenishment rate of about 64%. Google argues that better practices and transparency can alleviate community fears, noting that a lack of information often breeds distrust. The company also highlighted that evaporative cooling, which uses water, can be more energy-efficient than air cooling, presenting a trade-off between grid stress and watershed stress. Approximately two-thirds of Google's data centers currently use evaporative cooling, with the remainder using air cooling or recycled water resources.