用水问题正成为资料中心营运商面临的最具争议性议题之一。近期 Gallup 民调显示，每十名美国人中有七人反对资料中心开发，其中水资源匮乏位居首要资源隐忧。SpaceX 在修订后的首次公开募股文件中，将水资源条件列为可能限制资料中心发展的因素。资料中心主要采用蒸发冷却技术，以淡水吸收热量。Google 位于 Iowa 州 Council Bluffs 的设施在 2024 年消耗超过 10 亿加仑（约 37.9 亿公升）的水，而 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 预测，若超大规模资料中心大量依赖蒸发冷却，至 2030 年用水量可能高达 330 亿加仑（约 1,249 亿公升）。
各科技公司在应对水资源问题上采取了截然不同的策略。Microsoft、OpenAI 及 Oracle 已表态将全面放弃蒸发冷却技术，包括在 Texas 州水资源紧张地区进行的大规模 Stargate 扩建计划。相反地，Google 选择投资水资源补充计划、扩大使用再生及回收水，并公开揭露年度资料中心用水量。UC Riverside 教授 Shaolei Ren 的研究发现，若全美资料中心在尖峰需求期间采用蒸发冷却，可额外释出 10 至 30 吉瓦的电力，凸显出一项关键取舍：避免用水将增加电力需求，可能在夏季尖峰时段推高碳排放量与成本。
尽管各公司承诺减少用水，挑战依然严峻。Microsoft 的内部纪录显示，即便转向非蒸发冷却技术，其用水量仍将大幅攀升。2024 年，Google 在法院因水资源疑虑部分撤销许可后，暂停了 Chile 首都 Santiago 近郊的资料中心计划。更早之前的 2021 年，Google 曾资助 Oregon 州一场诉讼，试图阻止其资料中心扩建用水量的公开揭露，但该公司自 2023 年起已开始在年度报告中发布各站点的水资源使用数据。前 Microsoft 水资源策略总监 Priscilla Johnson（2017–2020 年任职）强调，公众反对与政府监管对于推动业界朝向同时降低用水与能耗的设计方向至关重要。
Water use is becoming one of the most contentious issues for data center operators. A recent Gallup poll found that seven out of 10 Americans oppose data center development, with water scarcity ranking as the top resource concern. SpaceX's amended IPO filing cited water conditions as a potential constraint on data center growth. Data centers primarily use evaporative cooling, which absorbs heat with fresh water. Google's facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa consumed more than 1 billion gallons (approximately 3.79 billion litres) in 2024, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory predicted hyperscale data centers could consume up to 33 billion gallons (approximately 124.9 billion litres) by 2030 if they relied heavily on this method.
Tech companies are adopting divergent strategies to address water concerns. Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle have indicated moves away from evaporative cooling entirely, including for the massive Stargate expansion in water-stressed regions of Texas. Google, by contrast, is investing in water replenishment, scaling up reclaimed and recycled water use, and disclosing annual data center water consumption. UC Riverside professor Shaolei Ren's research found that adopting evaporative cooling during peak demand across US data centers could free up an additional 10 to 30 gigawatts of power, highlighting a critical trade-off: avoiding water use increases electricity demand, potentially driving up carbon emissions and costs during summer peaks.
Despite pledges to curb water use, challenges persist. Microsoft's internal records indicate its water consumption is set to skyrocket even as it shifts away from evaporative cooling. In 2024, Google halted a data center project outside Santiago, Chile after a court partially revoked permits over water concerns. Earlier, in 2021, Google funded a lawsuit in Oregon to prevent disclosure of its water usage for a data center expansion, though it began publishing site-specific water data in annual reports starting in 2023. Former Microsoft water strategy director Priscilla Johnson (2017–2020) emphasizes that public pushback and regulation are crucial to pushing the industry toward designs that reduce both water and energy consumption.