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Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says

The Guardian Tech Tuesday 21 July 2026, 04:00 UTC By Pippa Neill Environment reporter 1 min read
Key Points

Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’The UK will not have enough water for future datacentres, the water industry has said in stark criticism of the government’s AI growth plans. Datacentres rely on large amounts of water to manage the heat generated by densely packed servers. Cooling towers, chillers and humidification systems make direct use of this water, with large volumes also consumed indirectly through high electrical...

Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’

The UK will not have enough water for future datacentres, the water industry has said in stark criticism of the government’s AI growth plans.

Datacentres rely on large amounts of water to manage the heat generated by densely packed servers. Cooling towers, chillers and humidification systems make direct use of this water, with large volumes also consumed indirectly through high electrical power needs.

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UK (LOCATION) AI (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian Tech Read original →

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