<![CDATA[It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply.]]>It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/d5c4f7c9-4b2c-4795-a21b-2450a8d62357/it-s-a-fun-contrast-to-see-how-ai-apologists-kept-saying-that-criticism-of-data-center-water-use-is-overblown-while-the-actual-water-utility-companies-loudly-point-out-that-data-centers-are-a-problem-to-the-water-supply.RSS for NodeSun, 26 Jul 2026 21:49:12 GMTTue, 21 Jul 2026 08:30:35 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:12:30 GMT]]>@hzulla

if you bother to read the document in question
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/164766/html/

you learn two things:

The UK seems to be the worst NIMBY place on the planet, as no new resovoirs are being built
which leads to disasters, like the claim that a new cancer hospital can't be built due to a shortage of water

The shortfall due to datacenters is a projection, that assumes the UK will treble DC capacity, and that on the hottest days there will be shortfall that is not that big a deal, if there was no NIMBYism

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/failedLyndonLaRouchite/statuses/116958373531060056https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/failedLyndonLaRouchite/statuses/116958373531060056Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:12:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:44:57 GMT]]>@orva @tante @hzulla

So they have one smallish closed loop and one huge floodgate.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/jerrej/statuses/116958265181266350https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/jerrej/statuses/116958265181266350Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:44:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:48:42 GMT]]>@hzulla come on, what do these "experts" know anyway, we must not be left behind! /s

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/phl/statuses/116958044016738509https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/phl/statuses/116958044016738509Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:48:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:16:34 GMT]]>@jerrej @tante @hzulla AFAIK they have closed loop from servers to the cooling unit. The cooling unit transfers heat to a water supply which boils away, which cools the closed loop.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.orva.fi/users/orva/statuses/01KY29PFTK8G5NATEM7FXT7JAVhttps://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://social.orva.fi/users/orva/statuses/01KY29PFTK8G5NATEM7FXT7JAVTue, 21 Jul 2026 12:16:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:09:10 GMT]]>@hzulla boohoo your giant datacenter doesnt have enough water. im more worried about how there are countries where people are dying of dehydration.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/ap/users/116822099144781994/statuses/116957888524584581https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/ap/users/116822099144781994/statuses/116957888524584581Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:09:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:30:45 GMT]]>@hzulla

We successfully fought off a data center here in Menomonie, rural Wisconsin.

The truth is uglier than the public propaganda: the data centers are being built on spec. The corporations are already starting to deal with each other, finding they've overbuilt.

There will be some Big Losers in the not too distant future.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/tuban_muzuru/statuses/116957737489343716https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/tuban_muzuru/statuses/116957737489343716Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:30:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:01:55 GMT]]>@tante @hzulla

I always assumed datacentres would circulate their supply of coolant, which would probably double the power requirements but largely obviate their need for fresh water. Maybe they did, some thirty years ago when I visited a couple that were completely air-cooled and no where near bodies of water to dump their waste heat (and water) into?

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/jerrej/statuses/116957624129585885https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/jerrej/statuses/116957624129585885Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:01:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:56:10 GMT]]>@hzulla yeah, the stackoverflow guy(I forget his name) was also claiming the same thing right here on Mastodon

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/mahadevank/statuses/116957601467087603https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/mahadevank/statuses/116957601467087603Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:56:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:54:40 GMT]]>@osma @hzulla oh we don’t actually use it, Thames water leaks it all over the place.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Nicovel0/statuses/116957595615079844https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Nicovel0/statuses/116957595615079844Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:54:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:42:59 GMT]]>> In May, the company told MPs that some of these datacentres were requesting up to 3m litres of water a day, equivalent to the peak water demand of 3,500 homes.

Wtf is UK doing with water? 860 liters per day per home is a crazy figure!
@hzulla

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/osma/statuses/116957549630034291https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/osma/statuses/116957549630034291Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:42:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:04:27 GMT]]>@hzulla I knew that take had to be bollocks when people gave it shortly after the news dropping on an LLM Data center consuming water it didn't pay for.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://donphan.social/users/Primo/statuses/116957398143538659https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://donphan.social/users/Primo/statuses/116957398143538659Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:04:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:01:58 GMT]]>@hzulla there’d be enough water if all the humans stop drinking it all !

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.party/users/zed/statuses/116957388393137037https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.party/users/zed/statuses/116957388393137037Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:01:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:33:23 GMT]]>@pedramardakani @hzulla

Safari's 'hide distracting items' also works for this one. The article is rendered underneath the pop up, so you can just tell the browser to not render the pop up.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/david_chisnall/statuses/116957275985629861https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/david_chisnall/statuses/116957275985629861Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:33:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:26:08 GMT]]>@hzulla I’m not a fan of data centers either, but both can be true. They tend to put these things in the middle of nowhere, places that previously had no large scale industrial users of water infrastructure.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://chaos.social/users/jaseg/statuses/116957247494525552https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://chaos.social/users/jaseg/statuses/116957247494525552Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:26:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:16:21 GMT]]>@hzulla A bait-and-switch scheme. It only makes too much sense that the current iterations of it have gone leaner in the bait and speed up to the switch: everybody knows that fascism is a regime of murderous thieves, the fash know it also and don't really care to put the effort, because their "internal" cynicism about their "cause" has solidifed as much as everybody else's.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/Illuminatus/statuses/116957209000077951https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.social/users/Illuminatus/statuses/116957209000077951Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:16:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:12:10 GMT]]>@hzulla Ah, just learned how one can bypass the paywall. One method is using web archives. Now I can actully read the article: https://archive.ph/s1Aic

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/pedramardakani/statuses/116957192526134712https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/pedramardakani/statuses/116957192526134712Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:12:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:04:01 GMT]]>There is a sign in the Prora Museum that mentions briefly how the planners and engineers of the Prora Nazi Holiday Resort knew that contemporary infrastructure technology was incapable to serve the planned massive building complex with the required services (fresh water, sewage, food, waste disposal, heating) if it were ever completed as depicted by Kraft durch Freude propaganda.

They knew the project will fail the moment actual people were to use it at scale.

But the mere fact of building and showing off a construction site was a propaganda success for leadership demonstrating will power.

Nothing to learn from that for current events, I guess.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/hzulla/statuses/116957160476528478https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/hzulla/statuses/116957160476528478Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:04:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:47:12 GMT]]>@hzulla my concern is that the lack of water is the plan. Trump and Putin are looking for foreign "migration hubs" to deport over 10 million people from America alone. These datacenter plans can pivot instantly to camps of forced deportation victims. That turns the no water, no energy into a feature.

https://infosec.exchange/@lockdownsystems/116953933279054814

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/flyingpenguin/statuses/116957094398236348https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/flyingpenguin/statuses/116957094398236348Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:47:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:42:47 GMT]]>@hzulla
Pass legislation to cap their usage *hard* at the level they say it will need on the planning request.

Watch the planning requests get withdrawn, for totally unrelated reasons of course.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.scot/users/petealexharris/statuses/116957077027528626https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.scot/users/petealexharris/statuses/116957077027528626Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:42:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:41:25 GMT]]>Another fun thing is remembering how the people who complained about EVs and heat pumps being an unreasonable burden on the grid's infrastructure are now the very same people betting on an obviously unrealistic goal of data center buildout FOMO that overwhelms both the local grid and the local water supply and will leave us with stranded assets of never completed or abandoned data center ruins.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/hzulla/statuses/116957071663030678https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/hzulla/statuses/116957071663030678Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:41:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:40:33 GMT]]>@hzulla

And can we please also talk about electricity use? The fallout is catastrophic.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/knud/statuses/116957068208205365https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/knud/statuses/116957068208205365Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:40:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It's a fun contrast to see how AI apologists kept saying that criticism of data center water use is overblown, while the actual water utility companies loudly point out that data centers are a problem to the water supply. on Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:36:58 GMT]]>@hzulla It's an interesting numbers game. Because you can calcultae the water usage in a way that it looks somewhat small, but a datacenter uses water _extremely locally_ which overloads supply

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tldr.nettime.org/users/tante/statuses/116957054131514960https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://tldr.nettime.org/users/tante/statuses/116957054131514960Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:36:58 GMT