Most commercial data centres use minimal water, techUK says

techUK’s report comes during a significant debate in the UK over data centre water use, as public and political interest in data centre water usage continues to grow.

The report, Understanding Data Centre Water Use in England, is based on a survey run in collaboration with the Environment Agency, and reveals new insights into how commercial data centres across the country use water.

It finds that most surveyed data centres are low water users, saying:

51% of surveyed data centres use waterless cooling systems.
64% use less than 10,000 m³ of water per year – less than a typical leisure centre and similar to a Premier League Football Club.
89% of operators measure water use or do not need to, thanks to closed-loop systems.
Only 4% of sites reported using over 100,000m³ per year – in line with industrial manufacturing requirements.

“Data centres are the backbone of the UK’s digital economy and will be central to delivering our AI and innovation ambitions. This report shows that, contrary to some public perceptions, most commercial data centres are actively innovating to use minimal water,” says Matthew Evans, director of markets and COO at techUK.

“But as demand for compute grows, we must plan ahead. We need smart policies, resilient infrastructure, and stronger data to ensure digital and environmental resilience go hand in hand.”

Data centres remain essential to the UK’s digital economy, as the country strives to become a leader in digital transformation and AI innovation.

These facilities power a range of critical services, with techUK citing cloud services, advanced computing, financial transactions and emergency response among them.

With the UK government seeking to expand sovereign compute capacity 20-fold by 2030, the report says these findings suggest that commercial data centres are, in many cases, actively minimising water use through smart design and cooling choices to minimise their environmental impact, particularly in areas with water stress or power constraints.

However, the report also makes a case for significant data and planning gaps, calling for “urgent collaboration” between government, regulators and the data centre industry to “ensure sustainable digital infrastructure growth”.

“I am encouraged by the work techUK have undertaken to better understand water usage – the findings suggest UK data centres are utilising a range of cooling technologies and becoming more water conscious,” shares Richard Thompson, the environment agency’s deputy director for water resources.

“Advancements in technology must go hand-in-hand with protecting public water supplies, food security and the environment. It is vital the sector puts sustainability at its heart, and minimises water use in line with evolving standards.

“We are working with industry and other regulators to raise these to secure the best outcomes for our environment and our water supply for future generations.”

In order to ensure data centre growth is strictly aligned with long-term water sustainability, techUK suggests that the government take action by building new reservoirs and invest in modern water infrastructure.

“While the government has taken decisive action to fast-tracking the delivery of nine new reservoirs, none have been delivered in over 30 years,” the report says.

It adds that the government should also create a digital-first water strategy to embed smart monitoring and leak prevention.

For the data centre industry, techUK says that companies have a responsibility to measure and report water usage and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) across all facilities. Likewise, it says data centres would benefit from adopting advanced cooling technologies and design cooling systems based on local water availability, in addition the joining the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact to commit further to water efficiency targets.

The report highlights that collaboration between industry, government and regulators is “essential” to ensure that digital growth does not come at the expense of natural resources. This is particularly important as pressure continues to rise from factors such as climate change and the UK’s AI growth ambitions.

techUK suggests that government and industry can partner to develop standardised AI chip cooling requirements to reduce energy and water demand. It also proposes early coordination between developers, water companies and local authorities, in addition to coordinating infrastructure upgrades and investment.

“As the UK continues its journey toward becoming a global leader in digital innovation and AI, the infrastructure that underpins this ambition must be both resilient and sustainable,” says Luisa Cardani, head of data centres programme at techUK, in the report.

“Data centres are at the heart of this transformation – quietly powering everything from cloud services and financial transactions to emergency response and advanced computing. From enabling remote work and education to supporting AI innovation, data centres are at the forefront of other sectors’ decarbonisation efforts.”

Data Centre of the Month: TY1, Saitama City, Japan (Princeton Digital Group)

Datacloud Energy & ESG 2025: Are we scaling fast enough for the AI data centre boom?