The University of Texas at Austin released a white paper on May 6 that estimates data centers could account for between 3% and 9% of Texas’ water use by 2040. The report calls for greater transparency in the industry’s water consumption and improved coordination among stakeholders to reduce the impact on the state’s water supply.
The study highlights the potential growth of data center-related water demand, which currently stands at less than 1% but could rise significantly depending on industry expansion, cooling technologies, and energy sources. For comparison, manufacturing currently accounts for about 7% of statewide water use.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the water use for data centers,” said Mariam Arzumanyan, a postdoctoral fellow at the Bureau of Economic Geology, a research unit of the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “People don’t know the scale of how much water is going to be needed. There is not a unified understanding of the technologies used for cooling, or how much water that technology would use.”
The white paper was developed by COMPASS, a research consortium created by UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology. COMPASS collaborates with industry leaders, policymakers, and local communities to address issues related to power usage, land planning, infrastructure needs and workforce challenges as more than 400 data centers operate or are under construction in Texas.
“What we’re trying to do via this white paper and the work that follows is come up with tools and techniques to predict water use, both direct and indirect, and help inform the community, city planners and local government about the water needs of emerging data centers,” said Vaibhav Bahadur, an associate professor in UT’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Policy recommendations from researchers include improving communication among key stakeholders such as operators and agencies; better mapping projected growth in regions facing stress on their resources; and working toward integrated planning frameworks that combine hydrologic projections with grid capacity models.
Ning Lin, chief economist at UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology and principal investigator for COMPASS said: “We need shared definitions and a common framework. Right now conversations around data center water and energy are often inconsistent because people are using different assumptions and metrics… As an independent research institute we can provide objective analysis that helps align how industry academia & policymakers understand these issues.”
UT researchers continue exploring solutions such as geothermal energy studies for low-carbon power options for future facilities along with innovations designed to reduce cooling demands.
