公众对 AI 资料中心用水的恐惧正在升高，但相关数字常常不可靠。记者 Karen Hao 更正了她在书中对智利圣地牙哥附近一座拟建 Google 资料中心的说法：她曾写该中心可能需要超过当地整个人口用水量的 1,000 倍；由于单位误解，这个估算实际上错了 1,000 倍。Andy Masley 的质疑在网路上广泛流传；反对声浪也在扩大：超过 230 个环保团体致函国会要求暂停资料中心扩张，而产业联盟则宣称用水「很少」且常被回收。
在资料中心现场，水主要用于冷却高温处理器：吸热后的水被送到冷却塔，部分会蒸发。许多设施使用可饮用的市政自来水，但也有公司逐渐改用处理过的市政废水。设计上存在「水与电」的取舍：多用水可减少电力冷却；多用电则可降低现场用水，但会提高排放与成本。足迹会随气候、技术与电网结构而变动；若把发电端的「离场用水」也算进去，数字往往远大于现场用水。Sam Altman 曾提到「平均」一次 ChatGPT 查询大约用 1/15 茶匙的水，但关键假设仍不清楚。
比较基准同样重要：一个汉堡可能需要 400+ 加仑水，一件棉 T 恤 700+ 加仑；美国约有 16,000 座高尔夫球场，每座每天可能使用约 100,000 到 2,000,000 加仑水。Google 表示其在爱荷华州最「口渴」的资料中心于 2024 年每天用水约 270 万加仑；而亚利桑那州单州就有 370+ 座高尔夫球场。然而专家警告影响高度在地化：若单一设施申请的用水量超过某城市居民用水的 100%，在缺水流域就可能造成压力；圣地牙哥周边的智利更正接近第 15 年连续干旱。
Public fears about AI data centers’ water use are rising, but the numbers are often shaky. Journalist Karen Hao corrected a claim that a proposed Google data center near Santiago could need over 1,000× the town’s total water use; a unit error made the estimate off by a factor of 1,000. Andy Masley’s critiques spread widely as opposition grows: over 230 environmental groups urged Congress to pause data-center expansion, while an industry coalition claimed water use is “minimal” and often recycled.
Onsite, water mainly cools hot processors: heated water is sent to cooling towers and some evaporates. Many facilities use potable municipal water, though some are shifting to treated wastewater. Designs trade water for electricity: more water can reduce electric cooling, while more power lowers onsite water but raises emissions and cost. Footprints vary by climate, technology, and grid mix, and estimates that add offsite power-plant water can dwarf onsite use. Sam Altman cited roughly 1/15 teaspoon per “average” ChatGPT query, but key assumptions remain unclear.
Context matters: a burger can take 400+ gallons of water and a cotton T-shirt 700+, and the US has about 16,000 golf courses that may use ~100,000 to 2,000,000 gallons per day each. Google says its thirstiest Iowa data center used about 2.7 million gallons per day in 2024, and Arizona alone has 370+ golf courses. Yet experts warn impacts are local: a single facility seeking over 100% of a city’s residential use can strain stressed basins, as Chile enters a 15th straight drought year near Santiago.