China’s Data Center Expansion Puts Regional Water Stress in Focus

China’s plan to shift some computing work west faces a water constraint: 72% of its computing capacity was in severely water-scarce regions in 2022, when the data-center sector’s water footprint was estimated at 15.7 billion cubic meters. The estimate covers data centers broadly, not AI facilities alone. It equaled 2.7% of China’s water consumption in 2022 and includes direct water use as well as indirect use tied to electricity, water supply and wastewater treatment. It therefore measures more than water used at data-center sites.

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