Britain wants to triple its data centre capacity by 2030. The trade body for the country’s water companies has told ministers there is not enough water to run them.
Water UK, which represents England’s water suppliers, told MPs this week that the government’s growth agenda barely accounts for what those machines will drink.
Data centres are all but absent from the frameworks that ration England’s water, even as marquee projects such as Stargate UK stall over cost and newer sites run into grid delays of their own.
The numbers are small today and steep tomorrow. Data centres in England use about 6.6 million litres of drinking water a day, and Water UK expects that to reach 19.8 million litres if capacity triples as planned.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!Individual sites already ask for more than their neighbours: in the Affinity Water region, some proposed centres have requested up to 3 million litres a day, roughly the daily consumption of 3,500 homes.
