Excessive water consumption

Mitigation strategy

1. Strategic Shift to Water-Independent Cooling and Sourcing Prioritize the deployment of advanced, water-efficient cooling technologies—such as closed-loop liquid cooling, immersion cooling, or direct-to-chip cooling—in all new and retrofitted data centers. Furthermore, mandate the exclusive use of non-potable water sources (e.g., reclaimed municipal wastewater, harvested rainwater) for any residual evaporative or humidification requirements to decouple operations from local freshwater resources. 2. Performance Measurement and Continuous Optimization Implement and publicly report on key performance indicators, specifically Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) and Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), as critical operational metrics. This includes deploying advanced monitoring systems and conducting mandatory, regular water audits to identify and execute operational adjustments (e.g., optimized water treatment, elevated cooling set points, enhanced leak detection) that ensure peak water and energy efficiency. 3. Localized Water Stewardship and Community Integration Formulate and execute binding public-private partnerships in water-stressed operating environments to actively engage with local water utilities and communities. These partnerships must establish shared water security goals, align data center water consumption with local ecological and socio-economic needs, and fund/implement local water replenishment or conservation projects.