Amazon strategised about keeping the public in the dark over the true extent of its datacentres’ water use, a leaked internal document reveals.
The biggest owner of datacentres in the world, Amazon dwarfs competitors Microsoft and Google and is planning a huge increase in capacity as part of a push into artificial intelligence. The Seattle firm operates hundreds of active facilities, with many more in development despite concerns over how much water is being used to cool their vast arrays of circuitry.
Amazon as a whole consumed 105bn gallons of water in total in 2021, as much as 958,000 US households, which would make for a city bigger than San Francisco, according to the memo.
Asked about the leaked document, Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan described it as “obsolete” and said it “completely misrepresents Amazon’s current water usage strategy”.
Where does the water go after it’s used to cool the datacentre?
Into the atmosphere, it is evaporated as steam
That’s hot
Quite steamy indeed
Yeah. But how much bigger than San Francisco?
Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan described it as “obsolete” and said it “completely misrepresents Amazon’s current water usage strategy”.
Interesting that they don’t say in which direction it misrepresents (is it saying it is too high or too low). Maybe they are hoping the reader will infer from what they are saying that they’re using less now, without them having to say that.
Meanwhile most developers: yes Daddy Bezos, would you like some more water
“Our current strategy is to use quadruple that amount every month”.
Assuming it’s open loop, and somehow all the water is vented as steam.
I would like to see a much more water efficient cooling system. I assume they’re doing it this way because it’s the cheapest.
It also greatly reduces energy usage/CO2 emissions.
I assume they’re doing it this way because it’s the cheapest.
Correct. This is also why many datacenters are being built in drier climates like eastern Oregon or Arizona- the very dry summers make for very easy evaporative cooling that can keep the cooling loops at below ambient temperature for close to free.
They could use closed loop radiators, but that requires a ton more space and surface area for less efficient cooling, or heat pumps, which will probably increase their energy usage by 30%+.
The memo is about whether to release figures about secondary water usage, ie, what water is being used in the generation of electricity for their data centers. A process that I expect isn’t even really under their control in most cases, electricity is bought from the grid. The memo is from 2022, before ChatGPT was even released to the public, so the second paragraph about how Amazon is planning to increase its AI capacity is completely unrelated to this.
Dislike Amazon if you wish, but let’s not misrepresent the news in the process. There are enough real reasons to dislike them without doing that.
secondary water usage, ie, what water is being used in the generation of electricity for their data centers. A process that I expect isn’t even really under their control in most cases, electricity is bought from the grid.
Good things large companies aren’t looking into their own power generation.
Also, the government is corrupt and companies have an outsized influence on where power plants appear and how much they generate. Even in a less corrupt system industry would have a large impact.
And even if you were 100% correct, that water use still matters in how it affects the environment and available water supply. All water use is part of the calculation of whether or not lakes dry up and communities are destroyed.
“Oh wow, our research shows our business model destroys the planet, better keep that a secret!” is the sort of exemplary moral reasoning I normally only expect from petroleum companies
leaked
Where there is a leak, water consumption is enormous.
