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Wastewater Recycling and “Closed- loop Cooling” Won’t Save Our Water Big Tech wants us to believe that AI data centers won’t strain would reduce water withdraw- als by only 9%.
a lot of energy. And electricity generation has a massive water footprint when fueled by fossil fuels. As the movement against AI data centers continues to grow, Big Tech will keep pushing new lies and greenwashing schemes. We can’t allow our leaders to fall for them. We don’t know if or how AI data centers can operate without harming people, society, or the environment. Until we have a regulatory framework that protects us, we must hit the brakes nationwide.
local water supplies if paired with wastewater recycling or “closed-loop cooling” systems. We’re not buying it. Wastewater recycling — a drop in the bucket Wastewater recycling sounds like a good idea, but it often only makes a small dent in data center water usage. For example, Elon Musk’s xAI Colossus in Memphis, Tennes- see, draws a whopping 30,000 gallons a day from the Memphis Sand Aquifer, an underground water source that is essentially non-renewable. To tamp down community concerns, Musk promised to build a water-recycling plant. However, if built, this plant
Closed-loop cooling is a marketing gimmick
Tech companies are claiming closed-loop cooling would allow data centers to “consume zero water.” In reality, these systems often lose 25% of their water volume per month, requiring them to draw clean water. Closed-loop cooling also adds a cocktail of dangerous chemicals into cooling water to prevent bacterial growth and corrosion, which will eventually be released when the system is flushed. We need to stop data centers An added flaw to wastewater recycling and closed-loop cooling is that they consume
Urge your Congress- person to support a national data center moratorium. fwwat.ch/stop-dcs Protect Our Water
FOOD & WATER WATCH / ACTION — LIVABLE FUTURE NOW | 4
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